Somebody's Waiting For Me
by Shilyn
Summary: Completed. A tragic accident leaves everyone thinking Kagome is dead. In a village not far away 2 children pull a strange girl from a river with no memory and no name. Will Kagome ever make it back to her friends? And can Inuyasha survive his grief?
1. Awakening

**Disclaimer:** No I do not own Inuyasha at all. Nor do I own the words that I used in the beginning. Those are actually Bonnie Mckee's lyrics to her song "Green Grass." All credit to her and her writers and such...

**Author's Notes:** This story is themed. I've written it to leave you thinking (or so it was my intent anyway.) I want you to come away from it thinking about life and such...Basically I've heard about a lot of people getting into car accidents in icy weather over the last few weeks. Alot of people have been hurt, and still others were brutally snubbed out of life altogether. It occurred to me that at no time in our lives are we guarenteed things. We're never promised tomorrow. Never. So I wrote about how I think the IY gang would handle one of their own dying abruptly, but the problem is she's not dead, she merely has amnesia. How will she reunite with IY and company? How will she remember who she REALLY is? I hope to tell a good story and also to make you think. Remember, this isn't just a fiction...truth is that something like death can come at anytime and for anyone. You may never get to have a chance to say goodbye, EVER.

**

* * *

****Awakening**

"…_Am I dreaming? _

_Will I wake up years ago? _

_Am I dying? _

_I remember so long ago _

_When the sky was still blue_

_I was welcomed and loved, _

_Not alone…"_

* * *

The light flooded her senses, excruciatingly. Blinking like a newborn fawn, she tried to see, tried to make sense of her vision. Blobs of color and light flickered and wavered in her eyes, it was like being forced to stare at a horrendously blurry image…she could feel a pain starting behind her eyes, a steady throb, like the beat of her heart inside her chest… 

Slowly she started to push herself up off the ground. Her fingers grazed softness, life. Her eyes saw dark and flourishing green.

_Grass_. It was grass, her mind whispered. Ignoring the throb in her skull she moved the fingers of her other hand. The surface below her palms was coarse, rough, and gritty. Her eyes revealed it to be brown…_dirt._

Her neck protested when she tried to look around, andher vision blurred even more so then. For a moment the black edges of her vision began to close in, dots danced before her eyes, a sick little color show for her sight alone. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

Breathing heavily to recover for a moment, she became aware of a new thing within this world of feeling and sight—sound. All around her there were rustling sounds—and the sounds of liquid, a river or a stream, bubbling and trickling over the rocks, rocks she couldn't see…but there was one sound above these that she took the most notice of: voices.

"You'd better pray to Buddha that that stain comes out, Toka! Mother will kill you if it doesn't!" it was a high-pitched voice here, light and melodious, young and sweet. She tried to turn her eyes toward the sounds, tried to see them. Though she couldn't truly understand it yet, she _needed_ to see them, _needed_ to hear them…

"But why should I have to do this, Shisuki? _You're_ the girl…" this voice was darker, rougher. In her mind she imagined the coarse brown of the dirt beside the soft green of the grass.

"Yes, but _you,_ Toka, not _me, _stained her finest kimono…how did you manage to spill so much onto her clothes? None of yours were touched!"

"Ah shut up! How would you know anything?" the other voice huffed, indignantly. The nameless listener felt the corners of her lips twitch, trying to form a smile, though she gave it no thought, and wouldn't have truly been able to comprehend it just yet. Something danced in her mind, a memory, or rather, a shadow of a memory, whisperings, hints of one. She saw a flash of red and white, and her own words reached her… _"You jerk!"_ but none of it made sense. She shook her head, and took a sharp breath, panicking, when the pain in her head swelled and bloomed…

The voices had stopped. She didn't know where they were—she couldn't see. And the pain soon stopped her from caring.

"What _is_ it?" the rougher voice asked, stunned into stupidity.

"I think it's a girl, Toka…"

"But she isn't…normal…look at her clothes sister!" there was a pause before he added, "She must be a demon, or a spirit…"

The other voice scoffed. "You're so quick to judge negatively. Just like Father and Grandfather. You're just like them." confusion swept over their nameless listener as small vibrations in the ground reached her, announcing that the soft-spoken voice was approaching. What should she do? Was it something to fear?

A warmth, a presence, came next to her. She moved closer to it, cautiously, and yet she was _so_ drawn to this other thing, whatever it was, with the soft voice and the warm presence. She opened her eyes as wide as they would go and tried to see the shape before her. Colors molded together, blue, a streak or two of whitish-yellow, black and the golden sheen of flesh. Some of the golden flesh reached for her and she almost drew away, but the movement would hurt her neck so she remained still and let whatever it was come at her. Warmth touched her brow, gentle and comforting, much like this presence's voice was when it spoke. A name for what was touching sprung to mind suddenly. _Fingertips…_the thing touching her was like her, she realized, human, though even that thought was brand-new and thought altering in itself—to know what she was…

"Shisuki! You _stupid_…"

"Look at her, Toka! She's been hurt…do you see, here, on her forehead, the bruises? And her clothes are soiled, her hair's a mess!"

"So what!"

The fingertips of the soft-spoken Shisuki withdrew from the nameless listener's vision. She tried to blink and focus on the flesh that was surrounded by a blob of blackness…_Shisuki's face…_

"Toka, you pig! _Look_ at her! She's harmless!"

The nameless girl shakily lifted her fingers and reached toward the other girl, Shisuki, whimpering. Though she heard the sounds that snuck from her lips she didn't recognize them, didn't realize thatshe was making them. And she didn't understand that with the proper manipulation she could make the same sounds and words as both Toka and Shisuki. But none of that mattered to her now, only her outstretched fingers, reaching, reaching, longing for the warmth of the other girl's touch…

"Shisuki! She's going to hurt you! Look out!" there were terrible thudding vibrations suddenly and the nameless girl looked up—although the sharp movement hurt her neck—and saw a separate blob of color dash forward toward her, violently. She cried out, her unused voice squeaking in fear.

"Toka, baka!" Shisuki caught the younger boy in her arms and kept him from lunging any closer to the nameless girl, who had closed her eyes at Toka's approach and was cringing inward on herself in fear.

Toka and Shisuki paused a moment then, both seeing the nameless girl again, taking her in. She was lying on her right side only a few feet away from the shores of a small but eager little river that flowed out of the mountains and passed their village. The girl was wearing a strange long-sleeved shirt that was mostly white, yet its collar seemed to be green. A pleated green miniskirt completed the attire. To Shisuki and Toka—natives of Feudal Era Japan—it was a most bizarre ensemble. Not only were the clothes strange, they were also _dirty_. The shirt was brown with various shades of mud…and possibly blood. The skirt was wet and discolored as well. Around the girl's feet there were what had once been white stockings, they were now greenish brown from river debris and mud. There was a lot of bruising along the girl's forehead, and a nasty gash on her neck too. She was in rough shape—and clearly confused.

Toka shrugged himself from his older sister's arms, frowning unhappily. The boy was about twelve, his sister about fourteen. Both of them had dark brown eyes and straight black hair. Toka wore his hair cropped short while his sister let hers flow long and unrestrained. Both siblings wore short kimonos that allowed for free and quick movement, letting them work long and hard as their rural lives demanded.

"She's a mute, sister." Toka grumbled, eyeing the nameless, speechless girl before them with disdain, "Her village probably threw her into the river because she was of no use to them, just another mouth to feed. Look at her! She's dumb!"

Shisoki looked, just as her brother commanded. The girl had come out of her cringing position and was once more blinking like a confused fawn, as if she couldn't see them…

"I think she's blind!"

"Oh merciful Buddha! A dumb mute _and_ blind girl washes up on our river's shores!" Toka whined.

Shisoki threw him a withering glare. "Shut up. She's been hurt. You know that when people are hurt they can become dumb in the head for a while, but they'll come out of it."

Toka snorted, "_This_ one won't, I'll bet you on that."

Shisuki turned to look back at the girl, frowning angrily at her cruel brother. "I'll take you up on that one, Toka."

"What?"

Shisuki edged forward slowly and reached out cautiously toward the nameless girl, brushing her mangled, dirtied, messy hair away, gently. When the girl started at it and rolled her brown eyes about, trying to watch her hand, trying to see her face, to make sense of the world around her…there was a light in her eyes, a thirst for knowledge. She hadn't always been this way; she wouldn't _stay_ this way…Shisuki bit her lip with sudden determination.

"Yes, I'll bet you a week's chores that she'll come around right as rain after some rest and some care from Mijai."

Toka gaped at his sister. "No way!"

Shisuki turned to smirk at him, "That's because you know that I'll win."

"No…"

"Then come and help me carry her." his sister rose to her feet, moving slowly so as not to startle the nameless girl. Carefully she knelt again behind the strange girl, who had struggled to follow Shisuki's movements, and started to take hold of her. The stranger whimpered and made a noise like a moan, but as soon as Shisuki had a firmer grip on her, and Toka came forward, grumbling the whole way, to help by holding her lower half, the girl's distress seemed to disappear. Instead she tried to see them, blinking furiously, making noises like a very young child might, trying to learn how to speak.

"I think she's dumb. She might not have been dumb before her trip in the river," Toka grunted as he and his sister started to walk, carrying the strange girl between them, "But she _is_ dumb now."

Shisuki only shook her head. "I know she's not. She'll be okay, you'll see, as soon as Mijai has a look at her we'll know…"

* * *

The dust had long since settled into the grass. The pig demon's blood had congealed into a sick gel that marked where its foul body had fallen—and withered into nothing but hot air. Yet its stench still lingered, even to mortals. _Sometime,_ Inuyasha thought, _when I am slaughtered in battle, will I fall like that, leaving my blood to congeal and stink while my body turns to thin air?_ The thought made him sick to his stomach—it always had—but _this_ time in particular it affected him badly. 

Inuyasha's ears perked up, listening attentively.

In the distance, at the edge of the cliff, beyond where the pig demon's blood still lurked disgustingly, Inuyasha heard and saw Miroku chanting his ancient prayers for peace and serenity, for comfort to those in the afterlife, to those that had been lostfrom the land of the living. To even the hanyou's highly developed and sharp senses the monk's words were almost incoherent, and his form against the setting sun's dying light was nothing but a shadow, a silhouette. Inuyasha knew that although Miroku was struggling to hide it he was sobbing as he prayed, it made his words thick and clotted, like the pig demon's damned blood. The hanyou didn't know where Sango or Shippo were. In all honesty he'd ceased caring…

He closed his eyes and looked away from the monk's shadowy form in the distance, away from the terrible cliff and it's coldhearted sharpness, its ugly, horribly truth…but in his mind he couldn't stop himself from remembering, couldn't stop himself from seeing her die…

The pig demon had charged them from the mountainside. It'd sensed the Sacred Jewel shards that Kagome wore about her neck. Lunging straight for her it'd nearly gotten her before Inuyasha could even draw Tetsuseiga…the pig had managed to pin them in the meadow, trapped between the cliff and the mountainside, the huge demon itself had blocked them all from escape…and he was after Kagome. Despite their stench and their ugliness, pig demons—even the huge monstrosities like the one that'd attacked them—were highly intelligent, conniving creatures. It kept them close to the cliff, leaving them little room to maneuver, and no room for Miroku to safely use his kazaana without sucking up Sango, Shippo, Inuyasha, Kilala, or Kagome. Inuyasha's more powerful strikes, such as the wind scar, were impossible to use as well, for the same reason. Sango had had similar trouble with her hirakotsu. Kilala was the only one that'd been able to escape the pig demon's lunges and swipes almost immediately.

Throughout the entire affair the pig's target was obvious. It wanted Kagome and the Jewel Shards. Of course Inuyasha stayed beside Kagome, protecting both her and the shards at once. But in the end it didn't matter one bit…the attack happened so swiftly, and was over so fast as well, that Inuyasha was still stunned by it. One moment they'd been fighting it, dodging its attacks, and struggling to get a chance to make their own, when the pig charged Kagome abruptly, wildly. The girl backpedaled, stumbled, and slipped…but her feet slid and she met nothing but the air.

Inuyasha could still hear her scream as she fell into the open space toward the water far below…but his rage, his grief, overcame all other memories of the battle. The next thing he'd known the pig demon was dead, its blood spilling into the innocent meadow's green grass. And he'd been standing over it, shaking, and _screaming_ Kagome's name into the sky…

But although he and the others had looked over the cliff, Kilala had even flown along the river's length some distance, searching; there was no sight of Kagome. Inside each of their hearts a sickening despair bloomed as reality hit them: even if a mortal could survive such a fall into the water they'd have been knocked unconscious. Under the water she'd have tried to breathe—and she'd have drowned…

Now the hanyou sat high in the lofty branches of a tree skirting the clearing where the pig demon had died—and where Kagome…lovely…beautiful, Kagome…_his Kagome_, had died…

On the cliff's edge where Kagome had slipped away from them so unfairly, the monk's prayers had ceased. His shoulders sagged in defeat, in grief. A sound rose from him—for a moment Inuyasha thought it was _laughter_, but with a jolt he realized the monk was sobbing, openly. How terribly, despicably ironic it was, the hanyou thought, that wracking sobs could sound so much like laughter…

From across the meadow Sango, Shippo and Kilala appeared, all of them moving slowly, as if in a dream. They sat around Miroku and all four were soon sobbing and holding each other in their shared misery. Inuyasha watched them without expression, half wanting to join them, half wanting to jump from the cliff and follow Kagome…

After a moment, still watching his four friends mourning without him, Inuyasha's sight wavered, his golden eyes filling abruptly with tears. The dam inside him had shattered…suddenly he could no longer think straight. He had to leave the meadow, had to leave the others.The pain inside threatened to kill him…he leapt through the trees, a spirit, a beast not quite alive.

As the moon rose into the velvet of the night sky an eerie cry rose through the blackness, like the cry of the lone wolf. Mortals for miles around shivered and retreated into their homes, praying for safe passage through the darkness.

In the village where Shisuki and Toka watched over a nameless girl as she slept heavily in the futon they'd provided her, the siblings shuddered. Was it an omen? Had they made a mistake taking in the strange and wounded girl? But what had been done couldn't be changed now, and so the night wore on, and the girl continued to sleep...

Endnote: No this isn't the end yet. The next chapter IY regrets some more and we see whether or not the nameless girl shall recover. For future reference: This story won't be as long as my other saga "So Much for the Hanyou's Happy Ending." Or at least I don't plan on it being that way. There will be a bigger and better plot though as time passes. Kagome recovers (but here she won't be called "Kagome" b/c she doesn't remember her past yet) and becomes integrated with the villagers. I have Shisuki and Toka speaking of Kagome as "dumb in the head." That was on purpose b/c these people don't have the conceptof retarded or handicapped. They just know when someone isn't as right as they should be. So I tried to mold their language differently.Also I have a collaborator with me this time, she has dibs on a future character or two. I'll tell more when they come...till then I look forward to seeing if anyone likes this one. Until my other saga is finished this one is secondary to it tho...so, yea, if you get bored look at that one kay? (grins)b/c that one's gotta come first. Ihope to make this one nice and fluffy later on...All who review get answers at these endnotes from now on...Till next time...BBYE!


	2. Dreams In Reality

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters, and neither do I own Bonnie McKee's lyrics...

**Author's Note:** My neck is really messed up today, I was up late (4:30AM!!!!) talking to a guy-friend of mine so when I did go to bed I musta messed it up something fierce. Both advil and Tylenol have failed to fix the pain in my neck...grrr...okay, this is the chapter where IY's mourning is seen most clearly...and Kagome begins to recover. For a more realistic feel I looked up a few Japanese words that I plan to use here, _obake_ for instance means "ghost." Later I'm going to have the villagers call her "Sakana," which means "fish." Fish is b/c they pulled her from the river of course...next chapter has Kagome recovering...and we see why it is that in my Word file I call this story "Amnesia." hehehehe...once more I'm being lazy and not thoroughly proofreading...if you find errors you can tell me (grins) and scream...I'll deserve it...

**

* * *

****Dreams in Reality**

"_Hope was a dream that I had of you_

_In the soft, warm slumber of dawn_

_I must keep in mind _

_That reality can be painful_

_If neglected too long…"_

* * *

He could _smell_ her. The scent, which was undeniably almost identical to Kikyo's, was one he'd never forget—_couldn't_ ever forget. So it was that when he caught a whiff of it he felt his mind and memories flicker and awaken from whatever darkness had taken him. His heart pumped and thundered inside him abruptly. Why was the thought of her suddenly making him so nervous? Kagome was a given in his life, a rock, a place of stability. 

He was in the God tree; the moon was high in the sky, a crescent moon, like the one that stood out so plainly on his brother's forehead. It intrigued Inuyasha, attracted his eye just as Sango's curves attracted Miroku's lecherous right hand. Yet below him somewhere he could scent Kagome, probably come with some food to comfort him. He pretended that he hadn't noticed her and kept staring at the pallid moon.

The minutes began to pass, and Inuyasha waited through them patiently until finally Kagome spoke: "Inuyasha?"

He looked down the length of the God tree at her, ears pricked and alert. In the moonlight her face was white and round and beautiful. She wore a small, nervous smile. In her hands there was a cloth wound carefully around some rice balls. Yes, she'd come to comfort him, just as he'd suspected. Yet although he was _very_ pleased, the hanyou refused to show the emotion, stubbornly.

Inside him this time, however, right in his heart, something tightened and a lump formed in his throat. Why was it so hard to look at her now? There seemed to be something wrong, something just at the tip of his tongue, just outside the reach of his fingers…_what was it? What was wrong?_

"What do you want, Kagome?" he felt sick saying it carelessly like that—why did he have to be so tough? Why did he put up the false front with her? Why did he pretend not to care, not to be pleased with her coming to him? Why did he feel that it was necessary to play the deception on her? To hide his real feelings? But even though he asked these questions Inuyasha's coldness to the girl below him didn't waver.

"I was hoping that you'd eat something, Inuyasha. You can't just sit out here and sulk all night you know. What's bothering you anyway?" as she spoke she rose her hands into the air, as if Inuyasha might be able to reach over and grab them from her when in fact there was still ten or so vertical feet between them both.

"Feh." He turned to look back at the moon. Seeing her face made that place between his stomach and heart twinge and twist. He thought he might be sick…the last thing he wanted at that moment were Kagome's rice balls…but her company on the other hand…

Below him Kagome had lost faith and courage. She turned her back on him and started to walk away.

The moment she had turned from him Inuyasha looked at her backsides, eyes squinted in concentration, in deep, pensive thought. Again the place inside him stirred, but it was different now, he recognized it this time. _He wanted to touch her._ Just as Miroku was a lecher with a wandering hand Inuyasha wasn't completely innocent either. Kagome's skirt had always been more attractive, even though it was foreign, than Kikyo's priestess robes. Seeing the pale and seductive flesh of her legs had made Inuyasha sweat many, many times. Watching her walk away in the moonlight now he felt the same way…

The hanyou gulped and growled to himself, ears folding back against his head in frustration. _I can't go after her…I can't touch her…_but just as suddenly as he thought that the hanyou leapt from the tree, landing lightly, more like a cat than a dog, and rushed forward, ready to tackle her like a clumsy puppy.

Wham! 

Kagome screamed, surprised, and a moment later she fell to the ground, Inuyasha's weight pulling her straight down. The cloth with the rice balls shrouded inside flew out of her hands and rolled rapidly away from their intermingled bodies.

"Inuyasha!" the girl squealed, and Inuyasha grinned, though he knew she couldn't see his face.

He sat up, releasing her, wiping the grin off his features at the same time, putting a scowl on instead, "And just where did you think you were going?" he crossed his arms, his hands disappeared into the red sleeves of his haori.

She looked at him as if he were crazy. "I was taking the rice balls back to…"

He started to shake his head, "No, I didn't say you could go."

Now she looked as if he'd hit her, she was surprised. But it was only for a moment. The expression quickly became one of anger, "You jerk! What do you think I am?! Your slave?"

Inuyasha snorted and got to his feet, frowning at Kagome in disgust on the outside and cursing himself inwardly. Wasn't there something _nice_ he could say…? No, there wasn't. It'd be too awkward, she'd never be able to accept it, she'd turn him away, it'd ruin everything between them…he couldn't stand the thought of that comfort disappearing. The kind, loving words that lived just below him never emerged, his fear kept them inside, just as it had in the God tree, just as it had ever since they'd met…just as they always would it was likely…

"Well don't get hysterical! Women are impossible!"

_Now _she was fuming. "Women?!" she hissed, she poked at him aggressively, threatening, with one finger, accusingly. Inuyasha wanted to grab her hand and pull her into his arms, kiss her until the sun rose, but he remained still as stone, his face set in a deep scowl. "You pig-headed, stupid…" her hand lowered, her fists clenched…

"Sit boy!"

With a shock he fell face first into the dirt. It clogged his senses, he tasted dirt, he smelled dirt, it rubbed over his skin like sandpaper…suddenly he realized that his back hurt, his stomach hurt, and his face was stinging…he tasted blood abruptly…

Inuyasha blinked.

It'd been a dream. _All_ of it.

He rolled over, breathing roughly, choking on his own blood. Sitting up he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth and nose. After a few moments he remembered how he'd come to be where he was. The night before he'd run through the trees, through the forest, running from the clearing where the pig demon had forced Kagome off the cliff…where she'd fallen to her death…

No! Don't think of it! 

He'd fallen asleep, exhaustedly, in the highest branches of a huge tree miles away from that horrid clearing, miles away from his mourning friends. Moments ago, while dreaming of Kagome, he must've rolled over and slipped. The resulting impact with the ground had left him with the nosebleed. The ferns about where he'd woken up were covered with his blood, still glistening and fresh…he looked away from it—it reminded him too much of the pig demon's remnants, spoiling, putrefying in that meadow where Kagome…he felt as if he might vomit and looked up quickly, clearing his mind.

The sun was rising. He could see the rays of fresh light cutting through the canopy above him. The birds were chirping merrily in the distance. It was a beautiful day…beautiful…he remembered Kagome's face in the moonlight in his dream…his stomach, with a will of its own, leapt into his throat, but Inuyasha didn't throw up.

He began sobbing.

_How many times did she come to me when I was sulking? **How many times?!** And I turned her away because I was too proud, too stubborn to accept her company, her sympathy, her help. What a damned fool I've been…_

He'd have given his soul at that moment to be able to spend even a minute with her in his arms…but that was just a dream…

The blood from his nose trickling into his fingers…_that_ was reality, blood, pain, and loneliness…

* * *

It'd been more than twenty-four hours since Shisuki and Toka had brought in the strangely dressed girl that they'd discovered on the banks of the river. She'd done nothing in that time but sleep, heavily. She was badly injured, and battered, as if she'd fallen a long distance, or endured a terrible war… 

The village's healer, Mijai, had put salve on her bruises and cuts, and forced a little water down her when she'd first come and been conscious. Since then he'd kept her in one of the back rooms of his hut, checking periodically to make sure she was still alive. He didn't actually believe that the girl would pull through. She wasn't very old—only sixteen at most he guessed, and not the strongest thing he'd seen. Shisuki, the girl that'd rescued her, was probably stronger and was likely two years younger! More and more Mijai wondered if the girl was some sort of water being, a spirit, or perhaps a body without its soul…certainly the strange mournful cries from the mountains seemed to be foul omens…just to be safe he placed sacred symbols and prayer beads around her futon, hoping to restrain any evil she had within her.

When Toka and Shisuki had brought her in Mijai hadn't been impressed. She'd remained awake only for a few minutes before she'd fallen back into unconsciousness again, and hadn't woken since then. Physically the girl was the same as any other. Once she'd fallen asleep he'd clumsily stripped her foreign wet outer clothes off—but had left her strange undergarments intact. Then he'd treated her outer wounds and examined her carefully. It was when he was checking her eyes—for the girl seemed to be at least partially blind and unable to keep her eyes coordinated—that he'd noticed her pupils. _They didn't change their size when exposed to light!_ Mijai had seen such a symptom before when workers were bumped hard on the head. It was a concussion.

Sure enough a few short hours later the girl had developed a fever to go with her strangely unchanging pupils. He'd watched her shiver under her fur covers over the next day or so, shaking his head in pity. In Mijai's experience concussions as bad as the girl's rarely recovered. He pitied her the terrible death she'd have, shriveling away, weakening, starving as sleep claimed her and refused to release her…had the healer lived 500 years into the future he'd have called this sleeping sickness a "coma." Yet the name of the illness did nothing to change the fact that the girl was sure to die from it…

Or so he thought.

At about 10 the next morning Mijai looked in on the girl. To his surprise she was breathing soundly, sleeping normally. Her cheeks were no longer flushed with fever and she'd ceased her shivering. Perhaps there would be hope for her yet.

The healer walked cautiously forward, picking his way through his circle of prayer beads and sacred scrolls to kneel at the girl's futon. Slowly he touched her forehead—it was cool and dry, as it should be. Then, with even more slow deliberation, he peeled the girl's eyelids up, trying to see her pupils…

Abruptly she moaned and one hand weakly rose and slapped his probing fingers away. Mijai pulled back, startled. On her futon the girl moaned again and started to blink, struggling to open her heavy lids. The healer stared at her, stunned. Was she somehow more than human? He'd seen others with injuries like hers, symptoms like hers, and they died…

Beneath her eyelids the girl sported average brown eyes. Looking at her the healer didn't think she was a raving beauty as he imagined most otherworldly beings tended to be when they weren't demons anyway…but then again she wasn't in the finest condition right now either. Her hair was a matted mess, her skin pale from her illness, and then there were the gashes and the bruises. If the girl recovered her vitality than Mijai thought it might be possible that she'd be a lovely little thing…but still only human he suspected, or so he hoped.

The girl seemed to blink away her sleep-induced fog for a moment, trying to focus on him. Her eyes seemed to work together and coordinate far better than they had upon her initial arrival. Mijai nodded at the improvement, pleased. Now to see if she was able to speak!

Mijai knelt beside her futon and carefully, tenderly, touched her forehead. "Welcome back to the world of the living, _obake_ girl. How are you? Do you understand my words?" he stroked her forehead gently, and to his surprise the girl's eyes focused on his hand and followed the movement with little or no trouble. He didn't think she'd answer—she was probably brain damaged. She was lucky to wake from her terrible sleep; to be able to understand and speak would be simply miraculous, and therefore impossible…

Yet as he watched the girl parted her pale lips, her eyes rolling for a moment, working upward, seeking his face. Finally they focused and her lips moved more frantically now. Air passed through her lips, hissing like the wind through the grass in a summer's storm.

"Wh…wh…what…who…" not only could she speak but she could form words of her own! Mijai was astonished. He'd have to find a monk to bless his hut and the girl and the blankets she was sleeping in, eventhe bowl from which she'd sipped water before her long sleep…

"Miracle!" he laughed, "It's a miracle! The _obake_ girl lives!"

Endnote: Okay for all that I got reviews from...**SensesFail26x** hey! Neat name! I like it! I hope this chapter pleases, thank you for reviewing and showing support...if you like this one I do have other stories, So Much for the Hanyou's Happy Ending is my favorite of course...it's lighter than this one in general, at least right now, this story may become exceptionally funny and good later, I plan on putting IY and Kagome into strange positions...(that's both physically and mentally...)...**Emerald Ash** hey! I know you! (huggles) this story isn't dead...but I will admit that Hanyou has taken up a lot of my time and my energy...even so I think that this one will be good. We're (my sister and I)planning on introducing a mortal suitor for Kagome...er...Sakana as she will be known...and then of course, IY will have to come in...(snickers gleefully)...but I wanted to tell a story and make a lesson with this too--we don't always get to say goodbye, so, as the lyrics to a song from a few years ago say, "I believe the sun should never set upon an argument." It's most true...just as the Tsunami, you're exactly right, proves. Life can play the cruelest tricks...as usual you're a joy to hear from (hugs again)....I know that there were other reviewers, but fanfiction's review system is like delayed or slow, so my email is screwed up...but I hope it will recover...

Next chapter Kagome-_obake-_Sakana speaks! It's called "Forgotten" for obvious reasons of amnesia...after that I paint a dark picture of the surviving IY group members...drop me a line and tell me how I'm doing...the sad stuff will let up a bit by chapter 5...I just have to get the message I feel needs to be layed out--as IY thinks in this chapter, when ppl are there for you don't turn them away! You never know when you might lose them! Hints for the future chapters:I'll tell you now that IY's going to be wild without Kagome, and crazy with grief, I have a quote I_ love_ that describes the way I think he'd be perfectly, as thought of by Sango...and Kagome will start life anew...for a little while...drop me a line! YAYS!


	3. Forgotten

**Disclaimer:** Okay, said it once but I'll say it again: Don't own 'em.

**A/N:** All right...This chapter is still sad, but it's drifting from my original message now, don't worry, I'll tie it back in at the end (winks) but if it was about nothing else but the group and IY mourning Kagome then it'd be BORING! So amidst the thread of wisdom and advice and message, I'm spinning nice side-images and frames. A story...(nods) and I hope that it'll soon really capture you guys, but as always I start off carefully...this chapter is about Kagome, the healer Mijai, Shisuki and Toka. Toka doesn't like her, he's highly suspicious. He's like my grandparents are--they'll give you the shirt off their pack, slice off their fingers if you ask and donate you their kidneys--but only IF they know you or you're family. If they don't know you they'll be like scared birds. You ever see pigeons all start waddling away at the same time a little hurriedly? You know what they're thinking: "RUN AWAY!" that's what's happening in Toka's mind, he likes things always the same always unchanged...incase I didn't say it before I'll say it again now: _obake_ means "Ghost." And _Sakana_ means "Fish." In the next chapter I explain what the group's been doing...why they know they HAVE to go looking for Kagome's body...and why they think Inuyasha has gone wild on them...(I mean think about it, IF Kagome DID die...would he stick around? I don't know if he would, he MIGHT, but I think grief might drive him away, you know, when something hurts you REALLY badlyyou run away from everything!) You'll see when you read it. Then the next chapter starts to pick up pace...Hope you like!

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****Forgotten**

_"Would the moon forget the tide?_

_Would the soul forget to die?_

_Would the wind forget to sigh?_

_Would my eyes forget to cry?_

_I'll remember like the moon_

_Way down inside…"_

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There were two monks dressed in reddish robes, hovering about Mijai's hut that evening. Shisuki and Toka were also summoned inside. They watched with stunned expressions as the monks tried to interrogate the girl they'd fished from the riverbank, tried to call her a demon. The nameless girl merely blinked at them and drank the soup Mijai had given her greedily. 

She was recovering vigorously, much to everyone's surprise. Only hours before she hadn't been able to sit up in bed without being overcome by dizziness. But with some soup she'd soon begun to perk up, like a dried out plant when the rains come. Now with the monks before her she was sitting upright, though weakly, still propped up with pillows and fur blankets to support her. Mijai had given her a robe to wear, but the girl had been too weak to stand and put it on without help. Although Mijai offered that help she'd refused it, apparently she'd been a modest thing in whatever previous life she'd had. The refused robe now sat at the foot of her futon, and a blanket was draped over the girl's bare shoulders.

Late into the evening the monks tried to exorcise a demon or spirit from her but nothing worked. Eventually the monks rose from their place near the strange girl's futon and came to where Mijai was at the back of the small room. "She does not speak." One of them murmured, looking at Mijai sharply, "We have tried to get her to speak as you claimed she did this morning and we have come up with nothing. She responds to no spells that we know of…" and then he frowned and leaned closer to the healer, his voice dropping to a whisper, "She is strange in some way we cannot determine."

Mijai huffed and looked irritated abruptly, "_That_ much I knew to begin with! She is like an _obake_. Like the risen spirit come to inhabit a dying body in the river. That is my belief. The spirit has been dormant in the river and then one day this girl bathes upstream and it takes her. There is nothing for it. My father used to whisper of such things. It was how spirits were said to be reborn ahead of their time when they had unfinished business to attend to, or revenge."

The monk that seemed to prefer doing the talking shook his head, "No, if this were such a spirit our spells would force it out. Nothing has happened."

Mijai snorted and looked away, noticeably offended. The monk, giving up, bowed before the healer and turned to his companion. "We must be leaving. She is human as far as we can tell." The monks both bowed low in unison and then slipped out quietly past the two children at the entrance to the small room, Shisuki and Toka.

After a moment of silence, during which Mijai stared at the girl in her futon as she slurped her soup harmlessly, the healer turned to the two children and summoned them in with a wave of his hand. "Come, come. Those damned monks are of absolutely no use." He scoffed with his irritation, "They tell me she's strange but she's no _obake._" He snorted, "I know strange when I see it. and if she _is_ an _obake_ she should've harmed us already, I should think…" he seemed to shrug the subject off then and gestured once more toward the children, this time with more eagerness. "Come, come!"

Shisuki and Toka stepped into the room, gingerly, even fearfully. Toka wore a plain gray kimono that ended just short of his knees. His sister made due with a light blue kimono with yellow flowers speckled about it. Since turning 12 the girl had been graced with a woman's kimono, which were much longer and tied with larger, more luxuriant obis. They were also longer, going to her shins. Also her parents had insisted that she wear sandals with her 12th birthday as well. It was a girl's coming of age in the village. A young lady such as Shisuki might marry when she was as young as 14. Shisuki was already on the market. Her brother, meanwhile, still lived a mostly carefree life at 12 years old. The siblings were markedly similar, the same eyes, the same color hair, the same straightness to it, only their styles, ages and genders separated them.

The moment Shisuki entered the room the nameless girl noticed her and her face changed. The muscles around her mouth twitched oddly—she was trying to smile. Shisuki froze and looked to the healer. "Mijai-sama, why does her face quiver so?"

The healer sighed and cocked his head, examining the still very pale _obake_ girl as he liked to think of her, "She's trying to smile."

"Why can't she?" Toka piped up, sounding more disgusted than curious.

"Because she has had a very, very big bump to the head I think." Mijai stepped forward and gestured at the _obake _girl's chopsticks and soup bowl. "Are you finished?" he asked, smiling and nodding at her as if he were talking to a two-year-old. The nameless girl slowly nodded, focusing on him carefully, her eyes following his face. Her hands withdrew from the items he mentioned and the healer took them from her easily.

Understanding dawned on both Toka and Shisuki at the same moment. _The girl understood what he'd been saying…_

As the healer turned and walked toward the entryway he gave the children a stern glare. "Be careful with her. She's a miracle! Most people never wake up from a bump on the head like the one she's suffered through. If you can get her to speak and tell you everything she remembers…" he disappeared out the doorway.

Alone Shisuki and Toka hesitated, uncertain, afraid even. The nameless girl regarded them both, her face twitching as if it itched. She was still trying to smile and failing miserably. That sight alone convinced Shisuki that the girl was indeed helpless. She moved to kneel beside the girl's futon and bowed low before her.

"_Obake,_" she breathed, "I ask that you enlighten me with your wisdom." When she sat up from her bow she found that the nameless girl was merely blinking at her like a lost puppy. Shisuki paused for a time, wondering if it was of any use…and then she remembered how the girl had obeyed the healer, how she'd let go of the bowl and the chopsticks. Perhaps…

Shisuki bowed low a second time. Behind her she heard Toka groaning to himself. "Shisuki, you idiot! This will get you nowhere! She's dumb, just as I always told you!"

His sister ignored him obstinately. "_Obake,_ I am the one that came to you at the riverbank. I beg that you tell me whether I have done well, am I blessed?" she waited but the nameless girl continued to stare at her, eyes curious but her mouth silent and unmoving. Shisuki was frustrated.

"Please, _obake_, please, I beg you to tell me! Anything, just anything. Mijai will be happy if you do…we want you to show us that you can speak."

The twitching in the girl's face appeared again. Slowly she nodded her head, though the movement was shaky and uncertain. "I…" she gulped through her dry throat painfully, "…am lost."

Shisuki stared at the stranger, confused. "Lost?" she wasn't sure what she'd thought the nameless girl would say to her, but she'd been pretty certain that it wouldn't be something like that.

The _obake_ nodded slowly, and then seemed to sag, tired and defeated. After a pause she looked to Shisuki and tried to speak again, "Words…" another difficult swallow, "…are hard." She closed her brown eyes and sighed, looking spent. Shisuki doubted that the girl would be able to give them anything else of use that day; she seemed far from healthy still, far from clear minded.

"I understand, _obake."_ She bowed again and whispered, "Thank you." she rose then and turned to regard Toka a moment, who was frowning worriedly. Shisuki offered her brother a victorious smirk and then walked past him, seeking Mijai.

Alone with the nameless girl Toka stared at her, hard, suspiciously. Finally, after fidgeting nervously he stepped forward and spoke to her. "I don't know what you are, but you haven't got me fooled. You're no girl; you're probably some sort of demon. Whatever you are I don't care, but leave us be!"

The girl opened her eyes tiredly and regarded him without expression for several long minutes. Toka shifted uneasily under her gaze, confused by it. He'd hoped that treating her disrespectfully would make her drop the ruse of humanity that his sister, the monks, and the healer all believed. But to his dismay she remained unaffected. Yet this didn't shake his suspicions at all.

"You don't fool me, _obake!"_ he hissed, angrily.

The girl slowly opened her mouth and murmured, in a barely audible voice, "…Not trying to…"

"Then what's your name? What village are you from? How did you end up in the river like a fish? How did you get so badly hurt? Who're your parents? Who's your family?" Toka shouted back at her, his body shaking, his eyes narrowed in disdain.

She seemed to look away from him for a moment, at first, Toka thought, it was because she was trying to hide something, trying to make sure he couldn't see the lie in her eyes. But when she didn't quickly look back at him Toka realized that she was thinking. Her eyes had glazed over; her eyebrows had met in concentration. Finally the girl looked up and met his gaze again, frankly, innocently. And in her eyes Toka saw it clearly: the _obake _girl was stricken senseless; she was stunned.

"I don't know." her voice was hoarse, dry and raspy, and the moment the words left her lips she lowered her eyes and Toka felt suddenly uncomfortable—she was crying. Little gasps for air rent the air, making him want to flee as far and as fast as he could go. But it was too late.

Mijai and Shisuki came into the room, their faces bright and eager, but darkening swiftly when they saw the nameless girl's change in mood. Mijai threw Toka a warning glare and stepped hurriedly forward, it was as if the girl had become his daughter overnight, Toka thought with some alarm.

Shisuki was carrying a bowl of noodle-filled soup for the girl. She hesitated while Mijai knelt beside the girl's futon and tried to speak with her. Toka felt his face burning when his sister glanced at him accusingly. He withstood her glare for a moment or two and then turned his face to her, angrily. "What are you staring at, 'Suki?" he demanded.

"What did you do to her? What did you say?"

"What do you care?"

Shisuki looked as if she might throw the noodle soup at him. "She's been through a lot—you jerk—can't you feel for her?"

Toka looked away from his sister coldly. "I don't believe she's human."

Mijai suddenly turned to the siblings, his mouth and eyes wide with surprise, "She has amnesia!" he proclaimed. Behind him on her futon the girl looked dazed, as if she might fall unconscious at any moment and never awaken. Toka thought the evil spirit within her might be growing tired of its pointless charade. _Good, she'll be gone soon then._ He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the looks both Mijai and his sister gave him.

Yet from the futon the girl seemed to have taken a strange interest in him, particularly when he crossed his arms. Her eyes were drawn to him, narrowing. At first Toka felt his stomach drop with fear at the look—he thought it was the spirit's wrath he was seeing in her stare—but then he noticed that her eyes were watering…she was near tears.

The girl turned away.

Disturbed, Toka turned and stormed out of the hut, grumbling to himself.

Shisuki stepped forward and offered the girl the noodle soup gingerly. Mijai began to jabber conversationally, but the girl on the futon wasn't listening. She took the soup and even tried to nod her head to the nice girl that'd given it to her, but in her heart she was confused, she was alone. Her throat was raw. It was hard to speak. A lot of things she didn't remember the words for, no one seemed familiar to her—no one but the boy.

When he'd crossed his arms and made the sound—the huffing noise—she'd felt her mind jumping, leaping with familiarity. But why? She was sure she didn't know the boy, hadn't known him. What'd made her think she did? In her mind there was a whisper, a hint, but it wasn't enough. Her head started to ache and she forced herself to stop thinking of it. Slowly, focusing all her attention on not spilling it, she drank sloppily from the bowl of soup the girl, Shisuki, had given her.

"What is it that we should call you, girl?" the healer asked abruptly, reaching out to steady her bowl for her as she drank.

"I don't know." she whispered, still focusing on the soup.

Mijai seemed to think his own question over then, as if the nameless girl had asked him it rather than vice versa. Finally he looked to Shisuki and asked; "You said you found her right on the riverbank?"

Shisuki nodded and glanced at the nameless girl. "She was like a stranded fish, washed up by a wave!"

Mijai nodded, "Well, I think that'd be a good name for you until you remember your name. Sakana, for fish. How do you like it, hmm? Better than _Obake_ eh?" he smiled and then chuckled amiably to himself, the nameless girl merely blinked, still confused. She didn't notice that Shisuki was staring at her, concentrating, in deep thought.

"How did this happen to you?" the girl asked, her brown eyes alight with curiosity.

She swallowed her soup and then shook her head carefully, though the movement hurt her neck, "I don't know." she said again, it was becoming her mantra.

Mijai stroked the white hairs on his chin thoughtfully. He looked to Shisuki, "It's amnesia." He assured, seemingly pleased by the pronouncement, "It will likely go away over time. Things will start to come back. Probably her name first, and then who she is, and then where she lived, and what she was doing, and the people in her life." he paused and thought for a moment before shaking his head at Shisuki, "She might never remember _how_ this happened to her though. A person rarely remembers the blow that knocked them unconscious."

He turned to look back at the girl they'd rescued from the river, who they now planned on calling "Sakana," for fish, "You'll get better soon, I'm sure. Is there anything you _do_ remember at all?" he asked, and once more he reached out to steady her bowl when she lifted it to sip her soup.

The girl paused before her lips touched the soup bowl and looked between the elderly healer with his earnest, eager face, full of hope and confidence, and the young girl's face, curious and calm, and abruptly she felt as if she might cry. She lowered the soup bowl from her mouth and lowered her gaze. What could she say to them? She remembered nothing but having awoken. There was nothing in her mind except the memory of waking and the inherent mysterious knowledge that somehow she was lost, she didn't belong in this place, on the futon, drinking the soup…she belonged elsewhere…but she didn't know how she knew that or where that place was, or why.

Slowly she shook her head. "I remember nothing." Her audience was silent. Not even a bit of encouragement rose from either of them, only a void that she felt no one could fill: just like her memory.

She started to cry softly, the tears fell like raindrops, like blood from a fresh wound…

Endnote: Okay, my email is swamped and confsing so I used Fanfiction's review archives for this...so I can only add names and such from memory...but here goes...**BeccaPatty** cool name by the way, I know a Becca, she's a sophomore in my gym class, fifth hour. Love her to death! (winks) Yes, you'll be relieved to know, the sadness stops, I can't tell a good story if everything's always depressing, you know! So yes, eventually I plan to have it be MOST interesting, but I must weave the message into the story as well (reminds herself of this as well as informing you) "You are not promised tomorrow. Tell the truth and live each day you are given to the fullest, you could die at any time. And so could a friend or loved one...at ANY time..." ...**TotalAnimeFreak**...THANK YOU! I shall continue to keep writing, and I hope soon for it to become most funny. Also, if you are partial to action, there's action in the next chapter, I think...Inuyasha steals some food from some samurais...**Emerald Ash** lol, I know you! hehe, yes, i just typed up my thanks to reviewers on So Much For the Hanyou's...etc, you know. I've begun a tradition of naming my stories after songs. This one, for instance, is named for Bonnie Mckee's song. I haven't used any lyrics from that song yet, but I could still. I like a lot of her songs b/c they're very descriptive, work REALLY well as beginners to my chapters, sometimes I try to tie in a quote with a chapter's name, that's fun, it always jump starts a quote. My favorite song to quote from is actually currently playing ove rmy speakers, called "Honey." _I still see you when my eyes are closed, tell me why I can't let go, I still smell you inside of my clothes, I'm afraid but I know it's true, I can't find no one sweeter than you...oh honey..._GREAT confession love song...(shrugs) enough of me splurging eh? Someday I'll quote the whole thing throughout a chapter...it'll be awesome...(winks)...Thank you all for reviewing, it's gonna get good...I thank (I HOPE) I feel it in my bones! Hehe...I have the most wonderful image of when Inuyasha and Kagome meet up and she fights him b/c she can't remember that they know each other...(grins) Yes, I shall write that someday soon...


	4. Dark Hearts

**Disclaimer:** Nope, sorry

**A/N: **Okay, this is chapter four of this story...I'm busily writing the ninth chapter even as I type this...and man it's getting GOOD! SQUEES! Sorry, shameless advertising on my part. Okay, AOL won't let me get in so I can't thank reviewers...(GAH!) I hope I can make it up to you with hints and getting everyone in at a later date...I'm REALLY sorry about this, the computer's been fighting me all weekend. With my luck next WORD will crash and I won't even be able to update you guys! AHH! Well...hints...This chapter talks about the remaining IY gang. My thoughts, as I wrote this, just instantly evolved. Think about it: without Kagome to keep him...what would IY do? If she died like this I think he'd just go whacko. Yea, he'd be out to avenge Naraku still, especially if Naraku had had a hand in killing her, but like this, randomly, suddenly...would he be left sane? So I portrayed this thought...and also, it's occurred to me that Sango, being a demon slayer, she's never going to wholly trust Inuyasha. She's intensely pro-human. If something happens to shake that faith she's going to put it on IY's demon ancestry quickly. It's not personality, it's what she's been taught. Demons are wild. It's like saying that a rabid animal of some kind WON'T bite you...it's in the animal's nature with the disease, which is kinda like what's happened to IY. The grief has driven him over the edge...but don't worry, he's not THAT far gone...I'm not THAT cruel...hints at the end b/c I can't thank anyone...SORRY again...I'm as sick of it as you are...please Review and tell me how you like or not! YAYS!

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**Dark Hearts**

_"Well all I ever wanted was _

_A hand to hold me down _

_To keep the sky from swallowing me up…"_

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It'd been three days since Kagome had died. Sango hadn't seen Inuyasha at all in that time. Like the others, and the villagers for miles around, she'd heard the terrible mournful cries of some beast in the mountain forests every night since Kagome's death, and she knew it was Inuyasha. He lingered nearby but couldn't stay sane in the meadow where she'd been ripped from them. Sango wondered if he would ever return to them, if their quest would ever resume…without Kagome Inuyasha might be too wild, too uncontrollable and too passionate for them to travel with… 

None of that was her idea though. It was something Miroku had thought of. On the second night after Kagome's death he'd gathered them together and solemnly reminded them of the terrible truth…

"The shards…" those two words were enough for the remaining group members to grasp what he was saying. Kagome had fallen from the cliff with the Jewel shards around her neck. She'd died with them there in the river. Somewhere downstream that meant the shards were unguarded and waiting for any demon or mortal to come by and use them. They'd have to find the shards and retrieve them…but that likely meant finding Kagome's remains. None of them wanted to see Kagome dead…it was hard enough just _knowing_ she was dead, to _see_ it was entirely different and a thousand times worse.

"We have to find them." Sango nodded, forcing thoughts of Kagome's body from her mind completely. She knew full well what it was like to see death and carnage—her whole family and all of her people had been slaughtered. Only Kohaku had escaped death, and in a way his fate was worse than death—life as Naraku's puppet. Sango, who had once been such a happy, beautiful maiden ripe for marriage and fame and love, had become a member of a group bent on revenge against Naraku for one reason or another. She'd learned to remain sane by turning off her emotions. She'd loved Kagome—but the pain could be forgotten—_had_ to be in order for her to survive…

Miroku had nodded slowly at Sango and then lowered his voice darkly, "I don't think Inuyasha should come with us."

Sango hadn't needed his thinking explained to her. Of all of them Inuyasha had probably handled Kagome's passing the worst. The hanyou had lost her reincarnation 50 years ago to betrayal and trickery. Now he'd lost Kagome in an abrupt and unfair accident. To deal with their loss the rest of the group had come together. Miroku had prayed for Kagome's soul, assuring it safe passage into the realm of heaven where she would be eternally happy, as she deserved. Sango and Shippo had listened to his prayers until he could no longer perform them and broke down. Then they'd joined him to cry their grief out. It was in this way that they made themselves stronger—sharing in their mourning. Misery may love company but so does grief. Crying together eased the pain, eased the burden.

But Inuyasha hadn't joined them. The hanyou had always lived alone. He'd covered and hidden his grief for Kikyo's "betrayal," 50 years ago, and dealt with his mother's death too, all of it alone. Kagome's death would be handled the same way. He did things without the help of others. Sango, Miroku and Shippo didn't understand _why_ he chose such a way of mourning but they didn't question it either.

And of course the prospect of the shards was a grim one…they didn't want to do it themselves, but all of them knew it needed to be done.

Shippo piped up then, breaking their silence, "But…why not bring Inuyasha?"

Miroku's eyes grew hazy and he sighed, slowly, "Inuyasha isn't here for one thing. I honestly don't know if he _would_ come."

"But the shards…it's _his_ job too!" Shippo looked between Sango and Miroku, desperate for eye contact. Although the kitsune and the hanyou tended to fight with one another Shippo held the half-demon in high respect and had loved Kagome dearly. He was whimpering now, confused by their stony and cold expressions, not understanding why they had seemingly decided to exclude the hanyou from their quest.

Finally Miroku sighed and turned to face the crying kit, "Shippo," he murmured, "Without Kagome here…" he shook his head, biting his lips as he spoke those words, stopping any tears from springing to his eyes, "…Inuyasha may not be the same. He may just leave us."

"Why Miroku?" Shippo leapt into the monk's lap abruptly and started to snuggle down. Sango had been forced to look away from the two of them then—the sight of Shippo nestling down in the monk's lap was too reminiscent of what he'd once done nightly with Kagome.

"Inuyasha is…" Miroku couldn't find the words and he too was stricken by the kit's sudden affection. He looked toward Sango but the demon slayer pretended not to notice. Kilala was sleeping peacefully on her lap, mirroring the snuggling kit on Miroku.

Yet although Sango had been looking away from the monk she'd heard his thought and had understood it clearly. Without Kagome, who had been able to pacify Inuyasha and empower him with her continuous need of his protection—whether real or imagined on the hanyou's part—the half-demon was likely to become wild. Rather like a wild dog he might turn on them, steal the shards and become a true full-blooded youkai. It'd be the doom of them all. Without Kagome Inuyasha _could_ become a beast…both the monk and the demon slayer had heard the tales from Inuyasha's past, when he really had been wild and untamed…and everyday Kagome's prayer beads were an obvious reminder strung around his neck.

And now they were useless. Inuyasha was a stray dog again, his master had left him high and dry and in misery.

Dogs in pain _will_ bite innocent hands…

So on the morning of the third day after Kagome's death Miroku convinced Sango and Shippo to search with him for the shards. None of them wanted to speak of the fact that they were in actuality searching for their friend's remains. No one among them could sense the shards, so it would be her body that they would need to search for.

"We'll search the cliff-face first," Miroku coldly outlined the plan, "In case it caught on a ledge." Sango and Shippo didn't meet his gaze when he spoke; they were too preoccupied with keeping their minds empty of thoughts. If they allowed themselves to think they were certain to imagine Kagome's body falling through space, her body smashing into the jutting rocks, the shards catching on a rock or a twig, the chain snapping taught and then flying free…it was too gruesome. None of them wanted to think about or face Kagome's final moments.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo rode the transformed Kilala and began the search. Because none of them could sense the shards they were forced to sweep in close to the cliff face, searching the rocks with narrowed, squinting eyes. They found nothing. The shards had, apparently, made it into the water with Kagome's body.

The river snaked its way along the base of the cliff. In most areas it was wide and shallow, but in a few spots, like the place where Kagome had entered its currents, the river was narrow and quite deep. They guessed that the current would've carried the shards away—it flowed swiftly at the area where Kagome had fallen. Yet it was possible that the shards _hadn't_ separated from Kagome in the fall and might've sunk or caught on foliage. The only way to be sure involved a lot of diving and swimming…and the possibility of coming across Kagome's body, something none of them wanted to do.

They agonized over it for a time and then decided to search the shallow areas downstream first. Kilala flew them along the twisting, winding length of the river, downhill and into a broad expanse of hilly forest. The river remained deep for a few miles and then once it exited the forest, it broadened. It was easy for Sango, Shippo and Miroku to see the sandy riverbed now. There were rocks sprinkled about it frequently, black and rounded by years of exposure to the water's current. Fish darted this way and that, startled by Kilala's shadow as she passed above them.

On any other day it might've been a beautiful thing to see, a glorious outing, but on that day with that task hanging over them not one of the group spoke of it. They flew onward, watching the rocks, hoping to see the glint of the shards, and not the dead body of their friend…

As the sun rose higher into the sky they hadn't found either. New fear and anxiety were beginning to creep into the group's hearts. Where were the shards? Had someone already gotten to them? Had someone stolen them from Kagome's body? That seemed to be the only thing that explained the lack of _both_ items they were seeking.

The river continued to broaden until abruptly it forked. One fork was smaller and with fewer rocks. It traveled away from the forest and the mountains. In the distance they could make out the smoke of a village. The other half of the river passed into more forest, and it seemed to be the larger half, deeper and narrower. They couldn't see its bottom. The water was more sluggish in that branch of the river. If the shards had floated on the current which route would they have taken?

"This is impossible." Sango muttered, pursing her lips. She felt sick to her stomach. At every bend in the river she worried about seeing Kagome's body. She shook inside at the thought, at the images. It was bad enough for her friend to have died, but the shards forced them to go out asking for this trouble…this _insult_ to her…it was like robbing from the dead. It didn't sit well with Sango at all.

Miroku nodded beside her. "Without someone to sense the shards we could look for days…"

"Maybe they aren't here anymore." Shippo sighed; he was clinging to Kilala's fur and looking thoroughly unhappy. He hadn't really put much energy into searching the river with his eyes as Sango and Miroku had. The possibility of seeing Kagome was too much for him. The Thunder Brothers had killed his father and then _worn_ his fur. Shippo didn't want to be reminded of that. _Not in the least._ He buried his face in Kilala's fur to hide his tears.

"We should go back, Miroku," Sango turned to look back at the monk, to plead him with her eyes, "I can't do this anymore. It's too much."

Slowly Miroku nodded. "I know. I don't like it one bit either. But it _must_ be done. We _must_ find the shards…if _we_ don't someone else will, and they'll use them in greed."

Sango frowned and looked into the distance, trying to still the pain inside her again. Yes, what Miroku said was true…but she couldn't handle much more of the tension, the anxiety, the horror she felt with it…she'd killed many, many times in her life, but those had all been demons. Demons, she'd been told, were generally soulless creatures. They were almost never trustworthy. Even Inuyasha was wild at heart, likely to turn on them…

It was then that she had a terrible, horrifying thought.

"Miroku…"

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath, "How wild do you think Inuyasha could be without…" she couldn't bring herself to say the girl's name; her voice dried up and died. A lump formed in her throat. _I hope that I'm just crazy and sick with grief…_

Miroku seemed to be concerned suddenly, thinking along the same lines as she was. "I'm not sure Sango…why do you ask?"

Sango swallowed nervously, but the lump inside her throat wouldn't go away. She bit her lip, refusing to cry. "I think we should've found…something…by now."

"You're thinking Inuyasha has worked alone."

"We haven't seen him in three days." In her mind she saw the hanyou slinking along the riverbank, sniffing like a dog, seeking Kagome's scent out…she saw him pull her drenched body from the river, saw him take the shards from her…and then what might he do? Bring Kagome back? Become a full-blooded youkai? Without Kagome, what would he become, what could he do? She felt sick at it, bitter and angry…

"…We should find him…"

"But the shards, Sango…"

"We'll never find them this way." Her voice was curt and angry but her eyes were shining with embittered tears.

The monk could no longer fight them. Slowly he nodded, relenting, "Let's go back to the meadow, Shippo can try to find Inuyasha by scent."

Kilala wheeled away from the forking river, through the sky and back toward the now fairly distant mountains and the cliff that had claimed Kagome's life…

* * *

Inuyasha was at the edge of the meadow where _she_ had fallen. His amber orbs were wide and wild. He'd been sitting at the meadow's edge for several hours, waiting, thinking… 

_They'd left him._ Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala had _left_ him behind.

It was the last straw on the hanyou's already weakened state of sanity. _I don't need those weaklings…_none_ of them…_

The lingering smell of pig demon blood was making him sick to his stomach. Slinking off into the darkness of the mountain forest, Inuyasha decided to set out on his own, to leave all thoughts of the others behind him. He buried thoughts of Kagome's scent, her smooth skin, her black hair, her warm brown eyes, the squeak of her voice when she was embarrassed by something…he never wanted to feel the pain again, ever.

There was only one way to make that happen: never become attached to another living thing ever again. He would be a killer; cruel, callous, and heartless…hadn't his life been _so_ much easier before he'd fallen in love with that damned Kikyo? _Yes it had._ Simple and sweet he'd wanted to be powerful like his father, powerful enough to be threatened by no one, to be respected…

_To never have to rely on anyone ever again._

Inuyasha bounded through the trees, startling the birds away, slashing them to bits if they moved a fraction of a second too late…he would make his way out of the forests and into the plain, avoiding the river. The first village he came to he'd pillage—stealing all the food he could eat, killing anyone that tried to stop him…

There was no better way to work off _any_ emotion…everything always looked brighter after he'd killed something…

_A dog in pain will bite innocent hands…helping hands…_**any**_one's hands…_

As night descended on the world the hanyou slept uneasily high up in the branches of another tree…and in his dreams _her_ face reappeared to him. He could _smell_ her. She wasn't happy, she was crying somewhere, crying for _him…_

He woke at dawn, the tears still streaking down his face…

Endnotes: Okay, next chapter is called "Stars Lost in the Dark." Basically about Kagome becoming Sakana, learning to fit in. Then there's some action involving our favorite wild IY and some samurais having a BBQ...hehe...that's about it, then there's Chapter 6 "The Fish, the Samurai, and the Beast." The fish is Sakana, the samurai you'll learn more of later, and the Beast is IY...Yes, Inuyasha has been drawn to the village that rescued Kagome. He comes SO close to seeing her or scenting her, but is driven off...sorry...too early to reunite them. Chapter 7, "The River,"is as far as I'll hint for you guys, but I'll give you a GOOD hint this time, actual clips:

_The women began to cry out with alarm. Shisuki rushed forward, plunging into the river, fighting the current…but her foot landed on a sharp edged rock and she screeched in sudden pain and lurched forward, fighting to current and gravity to keep herself out of the water and out of danger. She looked up just in time to see Sakana stand back up, her black hair flinging sparkling droplets, like diamonds through the sunlight…_

_And in her hands, covered with river slime and muck, there was a golden chain and a pendant that glowed an amazing purple…all of the women stared at it, thunderstruck all over again._

Okay, I hope that works...You can guess what it is, right? (snickers) must go now...till next time...later...Read and Review! I listen, I SWEAR! At least when my email works (groans)...


	5. Stars Lost in the Dark

**Disclaimer:** Not a chance...I don't own IY or Bonnie McKee's wonderful lyrics...

**A/N:** I still don't have AOL working on my computer. (sighs)...still I can't thank you all properly...I'll just do like I did last time...this chapter is Kagome's further involvement in the village, she lives with the healer and is starting to feel better. But she knows that she doesn't BELONG there...she just can't remember WHERE she DOES belong. Everyone's felt like that alittle, I mean like, "I know I'm doing this all wrong, but I don't know what's right in the first place!" Right? Yea...er...I know I've felt that before...later in this chapter IY makes his first move as a feral beast if you will. He's hungry...and they were just there...he took a long time to do it, thinking it over I suppose, but hunger got the better of him in the end, and they were just arrogan samurais, you know? I just had to paint IY's wild side for you...I hope you enjoy...next chapter IY strays close to naked village babes in the hot springs! "Oh I wasn't LOOKING at them...I just thought I smelled Kagome is all!" yea...(snickers) anyway...going now...enjoy, read and Review!

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* * *

****Stars Lost in the Dark**

_"I wonder when I'll see the stars again_

_I thought that they had faded long ago_

_With every step I'm closer to the end_

_I'm climbing 'cause I don't know where to go…"_

* * *

"Sakana!" 

The rail-thin girl stood shakily by the hut's entryway, staring out with tired, weak eyes. It was dark out and she could feel a rising chill in the wind. It would be cold this night…behind her she heard the healer, Mijai, bustling about, muttering like a nervous mother hen. In a way that's what he had become since she'd recovered—a strange, plump, short, round, male version of the mother she could only vaguely remember in the back of her mind. She ignored his calling, much as any troubled young teen will do. Her eyes turned heavenward and she squinted at the stars…they were so clear, but why shouldn't they be that way? What was she expecting them to be like, and _why?_

"Sakana!" Mijai's voice squeaked with irritation and she felt his hand land tentatively on her shoulder, trying to pull her gently from the door. Despite the way her back tightened and her leg muscles corded taut, she felt herself being pulled easily from the door…_I'm still so weak…why is it I fight him? I'm too tired to go out anyway, I want to run from this place, I don't belong here, but why? Why if I can't remember and I don't know where I'd be going? And if I don't even have the strength to get there…_

She stepped back from the doorway, her eyes lowered to the ground. Mijai was clucking his tongue in a mixture of irritation and worry. Slowly he pushed her a bowl of noodle-filled soup. Bits of chicken riddled it like here and there. She knew the broth would be spicy, just as Mijai liked it, just the way he'd cooked it for her _everyday_ since she'd awoken on his futon in the back room. Hungry despite herself, she took it and nodded to him in thanks.

Mijai shook his head at her while she sipped from it carefully, "You are a quiet one." He sighed after a moment when she looked away, refusing to meet his eyes while she slurped the soup. The healer crossed the small room and sat at his small table, in front of his very own bowl of soup. Unlike the girl he picked up two ragged chopsticks and began to sift through the soup, scooping out a few noodles and one grisly piece of chicken.

When her soup was mostly gone, the girl moved, shakily, to the table and sat on the opposite side of him. They were silent for a long time until finally Mijai looked up at her and smiled warmly. "Well, Sakana," he gestured toward the door, "What makes the door so interesting? What's to see?"

She frowned, uncertain, her eyes unfocused and she searched her mind, trying to find him an answer. The truth was that she could remember nothing. She hardly even remembered Shisuki and Toka finding her on the banks of the river. Yet she was certain that that river was part of whatever it was that was calling to her from the outside world…there was something _about_ the river…a tingle arose inside her mind, a tickle she couldn't scratch…

Sakana, as she was called now, shook her head and massaged her temples, sighing with defeat. She told Mijai the firs thing that came to her mind, "I need to see the river. I'm hoping that if I see it I'll remember _something…_"

Mijai nodded, "Yes, I'm eager to hear your story. I've never had anyone recover from such a nasty bump on the head. You've got one strong will to live, either that or there is a spirit watching over your soul…"

She looked up at him sharply, his words catching something inside her that she couldn't understand…_spirit…_a name floated to her: Kikyo. But what did that name have to do with anything? She knew that it was connected with negative feelings, but she couldn't place why or when they'd come upon her…frustrated she shook the thought off. If it mattered she'd remember in due time…but that thought didn't offer her any kind of comfort…

"In the morning, if you feel up to it, I think Shisuki would love to take you to the hot springs." Mijai laughed, "Heaven knows you need a bath! I'll bet there's a pretty young woman that half the boys of this village would drool to see under all that dirt and river scum…"

She nodded, it'd only been a few days since she'd awoken from her terrible black sleep—the coma, and recovered from the fever of the concussion. But she knew full well she wasn't clean or pleasant to smell…she also wasn't healthy yet either. Her body was undernourished, her skin pale from exposure to the cold waters of the river, she had a cough from the water she'd swallowed…if she survived without a bout of pneumonia she'd _really_ be a miracle…

"I'm having Shisuki's mother make you some clothes, a simple robe ought to do, no?" Mijai chuckled and then reached for her bowl, spooning more of the soup from the still steaming pot on the table into it. He set it back before her and smiled, much as she thought a father might…though strangely she didn't have memories of _that_… "Eat up!" Mijai ordered and then began sifting once more through his own soup, picking out the noodles and chicken bits.

As she started to sip more at the soup, the girl, Sakana, thought that perhaps it wasn't so bad here…but the tingling, tickling sensation in the back of her mind continued, unabated. _Why is it that I feel like I can't stay here? Why is it I _have_ to go back to the river? What's there that I need to find?_

* * *

The small band of samurais fidgeted and squirmed amongst themselves nervously. Their destination, a castle on the other side of these mountains, was simply too far away for their comfort at the moment. Over the last week they'd been driving their horses hard over the flat plain, eager to rejoin their comrades in the castle. Word had reached them that their castle was under siege by the pig demons that normally only plagued the mountains. They needed every man for defense now; conquest had suddenly become second to their own protection. 

_That_ was something that didn't sit well with them…but it couldn't be disputed, these plains and the mountains had become dangerous places for travelers. Demon slayers would be needed to clean it out for sure…but the best slayers lived nowhere nearby. And generally the samurai were too proud to call upon the slayers for help. They hated not taking care of the problem on their own…but they were warriors among mortals, with no experience in demons and their ways…

This was an encampment of about 50 men. They sat about ten to a fire at five fires, and each fought sleep desperately, their voices low and uncertain, their weapons clanking and stirring uneasily…

They were not alone… 

In the trees some thirty feet or so away all of them could see a set of gleaming eyes regarding them. Futilely they'd shot arrows at it, but the beast, whatever it was, disappeared from sight when they did, merely closing its eyes and leaping to a different tree. It was far, far too dark for them to even consider tracking the beast, and they suspected that it was likely harmless—a wild dog or a panther or a fox probably. Perhaps it smelled the meat they had burning on their fires. But it could only slobber and dream from a distance…fifty men to one pesky carnivore, swift as it was to avoid their arrows and stay well out of sight, it was no contest…

Yet some of them whispered of the pig demons, multiplying, strengthening, and plotting against them. The beast in the bushes was _too_ smart, they reasoned, to be a mere mortal creature. It was some sort of demon for sure, and should they provoke it or appear weak it'd tear them asunder…

Finally around midnight the golden feral eyes reappeared in the distant shadows of the trees. A few of the men had fallen asleep. The archers regarded the creature by now as nothing more than a curious wild animal. No arrows were shot to ward it off. Nervously a few of the remaining samurai watched with the hilts of their swords clenched tightly in their fists. They expected a pig demon to leap from those trees at any second and tear them apart.

But nothing happened…at first…

The creature in the tops of the trees waited. An hour passed and still nothing happened. The creature didn't seem to move from its spot in the tree. The amber glare of its eyes through the darkness, glinting from the samurais' fires, stared at them unabatedly, unabashedly, and unceasingly. It was eerie, but none moved to scare it off—the creature seemed harmless…

And then a few clouds skidded over the crescent moon, and the world darkened still more. It was as if black ink had been spilled over the whole of the earth. The stars seemed to have banished before the samurais' eyes.

And that was when the beast struck.

A horse whinnied wildly in fright, spooked by the darkness. One of the younger samurais could be heard trying to shush the animal, but it refused to calm. In a moment the sound of its hooves beating the earth was heard as the frightened horse charged off into the darkness.

"You stupid fool!" an older man screamed at the younger samurai, "You let that miserable half-wit horse escape! What do you think we should do about it?! Hmm…I say we let one of the men ride _you_ all the way home…" a burst of raucous laughter came then through the men surrounding the fires, the tension of the night was momentarily eased…but the men hadn't taken into thought the reason _why_ the horse had suddenly spooked…

The wind had changed, but the samurais, being nothing more than mortal, failed to smell the beast approaching coming straight for them.

One man had the time to look toward the trees through the gloom and grunt, "Would you look at that, the kitsune finally left us!" indeed, the other men looked and there wasn't any feral eyes glinting at them from the dark or the forest…

Suddenly a man screamed. The samurais leapt to their feet, their swords immediately drawn. "Shiso?! What is going on over there?" someone called, but the man made no answer, and as the rest of the camp watched in terror, a strange humanoid form burst from the blackness, silhouetted by the flames of one of the fires.

The creature slashed one man before he could even make a sound, then whirled on another who was drawing his sword, cutting his arm clean away before he even lifted the blade. The samurais farthest away from this mess looked on in horror, frozen as their comrades were ripped apart…and not a one of them failed to notice the glint of its amber eyes as it whirled and twisted and writhed and slashed. It was the same beast from before, from within the shadow of the trees.

A few archers aimed their arrows at the beast, their bows singing and straining with the effort. The arrows shot through the air, true to their marks, but the beast ducked them all deftly and even caught one in its clawed hands, snapping it in two. The samurais could hear rough and angry laughter arise from the beast's throat.

"I'm not that easy to kill, you lazy bastards!" it yelled, stunning them all into gaping stupidly, frozen in expressions of shock.

This gap in their attacks allowed the creature to snatch what it'd come for…it leapt into the air, landing easily at the edge of one of the fires, and grabbed the skewer of burning meat. It was in this moment that the samurais got their best view of the beast attacking them: it wore a red haori, and when it reached into the fire the material failed to burn, much to their shock. The hair was light and shining in the flickering light of the fires: it seemed to be white, or silver. And, aside from the feral glow of the amber eyes, the strangest thing about the creature was its ears: they were two neat little dog-ears sticking out above its rather unruly head of hair.

Before any of the samurais could move to attack it again, the beast with the dog-ears leapt away, the smoking meat still in its clawed hands. Some noted, as it leapt away, that the creature had a sword strapped to its waist…

The monster had killed five men; three others were badly wounded. The samurais posted archers to watch for the glint of the feral eyes, should they reappear, but they never did.

In the morning their general sent a small number of them beyond the winding river that flowed through this plain to seek out the nearest village, to tend the wounded, and ask about the strange creature that had attacked them. It had been too long since the last demon extermination—slayers would be needed. The demons of the mountains would pay…

* * *

Early in the afternoon the following day, Shisuki arrived at Mijai's hut, her arms wrapped about a simple green and white kimono. "Mijai? Sakana? I have come with my mother's kimono robe…it's time we went to the hot springs!" 

Shisuki and Sakana set out shortly after that, both eager to be out of the village. Sakana had grown steadily stronger with each night of rest that passed. She was beginning to feel alive once more as she walked beside Shisuki. At first conversation was light, both girls being uncertain of the other, but finally after a while they began to a steady conversation.

"Why did your mother make it green?" Sakana asked, reaching out to touch the cotton of the robe in Shisuki's arms.

The other, younger girl smiled and shrugged amiably. "I told her that we found you in that tiny kimono! So she made you one that's short and green—just like the one we first saw you in." she held out the garment, and it let Sakana hold it up to measure it on herself.

Indeed, it _was_ short; it ended mid-thigh, and tied with a simple but elegant white and red obi. There was no inner robe. It was a peasant's garb, but certainly a _nice_ one. Shisuki's mother had worked hard on it…Sakana felt herself blushing. "It's gorgeous, I can't wait to wear it!" certainly it was far better than the white robe Mijai had lent her—his robe smelled strange and was far, far too big on her. She felt like she was wearing a tent walking beside Shisuki, who was wearing an elegant blue kimono that ended mid-calf. Tiny yellow flowers were embroidered all over it. Silently Sakana admired the other girl's clothing, already adoring the girl's mother for her handiwork before she'd even met the woman.

She handed the kimono back to Shisuki, who blushed and bowed slightly, "My mother has had many years of practice. She was once the tailor, before she married our father and relocated to this village, anyway."

"I can see why!"

The girls reached the river. To get to the hot springs they'd have to wade across it and walk to the forest on the other side some distance away. The river was wide and shallow at the point where Shisuki and Sakana crossed, shivering at the chill of the water on their toes.

But as Sakana walked across she fell behind Shisuki, her senses alive, tingling. The flesh on her feet forgot the cold, swift current of the eager little but energetic river. _There was something out there…_she looked left and right, her brown eyes wide and searching, desperately. The spot at the back of her mind was tingling again, like an itch she couldn't scratch. She had the urge to run along the river in both directions, searching for something, but what? What was in the river?

From the opposite bank Shisuki was shivering, "Come on, Sakana!" she called.

Reluctantly the girl pressed forward, shaking her head futilely to try and rid herself of the terrible internal itch, the instinct to search the river…she reached Shisuki on the other side and they continued on their way, but now Sakana was noticeably quiet, disturbed. Shisuki tried to draw her out again but it was in vain, until they reached the hot springs. _Then_ Sakana finally forgot the strangeness of the river and a new desire awoke within her—a _need_ to be clean…

Endnote: My hints for today: I just finished writing chapter 9 last night, it's called "She's Alive." Hehe, as if that weren't a pretty large hint all on its own here's another, a paragraph from the chapter hinting at my all-time fav funny moment (that I've written anyway)where IY makes a fool out of himself...though this time he didn't get punished on purpose...unknowingly...here goes, see if you can guess what happened to him:

_One gigantic splash later and Inuyasha rose from it_(the river),_ sputtering and furious. He looked around frantically, his ears twittering in every which way, even his nose worked, twitching as he stood, his flesh prickled with goose bumps in the middle of the river. His clawed hands reached up (_to his neck_)and clasped the beads…_

Just so you know I added the stuff in parantheses to give you an even bigger hint...(grins). Well until next time! Drop me a line! YAYS! My other story broke 300 reviews!!! (SCREAMS!!!)


	6. The Fish, The Samurai, and the Beast

**Disclaimer:** Sorry I don't own either the lyrics (htose are Bonnie McKee's) or Inuyasha.

**A/N: **This chapter Kagome nearly gets slaughtered by a samurai...hehe, later we learn more about this guy and he's not cool, he's mean...Kagome pays for it later...or at least the samurai TRIES to make her pay for it...My AOL is still on the fritz. (sighs) So I'll offer up another paragraph in appeasement...(pouts) I'm sorry about being late...I've had more play practice and more "friend" trouble. Now a guy friend that I've always enjoyed teasing has turned against me and says I "betrayed" him but I don't know HOW I did that and he won't tell me anything, just won't talk to me. I'm really sick of my life...but at least I still have you guys, eh? (smiles) Drop me a line...when I get onto AOL I shall endeavor to check it...I can only be on one at a time and have to restart the miserable computer when I go on Internet Explorer b/c AOL is like insulted that I'm not on it...grrr...it's so stupid! well on with the fic:

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* * *

****The Fish, the Samurai, and the Beast**

_"I never have seen an angel _

_I gave up watching the skies _

_Whisper softly to me, honey _

_But don't lie—don't you lie…"_

* * *

There were already several other local women bathing when Shisuki and Sakana reached the springs. As they approached a female sentry, a little girl posted high in a tree watching the road for peeping boys and young men, whistled to them, alerting the bathers that the new arrivals were harmless. Shisuki laughed and waved at the sentry as they passed by. Sakana remained quiet, but she smiled slightly, her spirits beginning to ease with the communal hospitality these people exuded. 

The girls rounded a small bend in the road and found themselves at the edge of the hot springs. Five other women and girls were already there, but two of them were drying themselves off, their flesh prickled from the chill of leaving the warm water. They turned and looked to the newcomers with curiosity, and then surprise when they recognized that a stranger accompanied Shisuki.

An older gray-haired woman, shrugging on her cotton kimono, squinted at Shisuki and Sakana as they approached. She was the first to speak, "Shisuki, good day to you, and…who is this young woman with you today?"

Shisuki bowed respectfully and Sakana followed suit swiftly, although so many new people before her was frustrating and confusing. Shisuki gestured to her, "This is the girl my brother, Toka, and I rescued from the river. She doesn't remember her name, so we call her Sakana for now."

The older woman smiled and the youngsters giggled. "Fish? Ah…but Shisuki, she's much prettier than a fish!"

Sakana, as she was called, bowed her head in respect again and murmured a quiet "Thank you…" though she failed to see how the old woman could call her pretty when she was so filthy!

Shisuki and Sakana stripped their clothing off and stepped into the hot spring, shivering with pleasure as the steamy water enveloped them. The three remaining in the spring were all young women aged from about 30 to 20, Sakana guessed—and they all had a hard time not staring at her as she slipped into the spring beside them. It wasn't that she looked any different from them—it was that she was that she was covered in a fine layer of dried river muck and sweat. Her hair was an absolute catastrophe, and most of her body was covered in bruises and scrapes…she looked like a refugee from a war.

Her face was bright red as she settled into the water. She tried avoiding the other's stares—but she knew full well that they were watching her, gaping. What she didn't expect was for them to pity her…

"Oh you poor thing!" one of them, the youngest she thought, squealed and moved through the water to sit beside her through the steam.

The other two joined the first wordlessly, leaving only Shisuki on the other side of the spring, smiling at the bemused expression on Sakana's discolored, dirtied face.

"By the time we're done washing you you'll be the most beautiful girl in the whole village!" the eldest peeped, excitedly.

The other women began splashing her and scrubbing on her skin with their own towels and washcloths, rinsing and forcing the filth off her body and face. When this was done they attacked her scalp. One of the women had a comb, and after dunking Sakana and cleaning her scalp with a rough soap, they helped straighten her hair out. The pain she felt as they cleaned her so brutally nearly made her cry—but at the same time she felt immensely happy. It was almost like being amongst family…they cared for her as if she were one of their own when in fact she was a complete, nameless stranger. She was completely worthless but they treated her like a queen…she smiled through the pain…and alongside her Shisuki smiled too.

An hour or so later Sakana was freed from the spring a completely changed girl. The women helped her into her new green and white kimono and tied the small obi as ornately as they knew how. When they were done all four of them withdrew and admired her, calling her pretty, no, beautiful! The youngest of them asked her how old she was.

"I don't remember." She blushed at this, hating that she had to tell them something so vague that it sounded like a lie, especially when they'd been so absolutely kind to her, but they nodded, apparently believing her.

The youngest, Sakana thought her name was Sumi, spoke again, "I think you must be about fifteen, or sixteen. About my younger brother's age." She seemed taken with this idea, "You're so pretty, he'd fall for you in a second!" Sakana wasn't sure how many more times she could say 'thank you' without her tongue falling out.

Finally the women started to head away from the springs, but they didn't make it far before the sentry screamed out a warning, "Look out! Boys coming! Boys! Boys!" and then her words were choked out of existence for a moment and the five women were left in a strange, terrible silence. Inside Sakana there was a feeling, oddly enough, of acceptance, as if she'd faced trouble a million times before and always been able to survive and escape it. But the silence didn't last long.

A man's shouting came then, ricocheting off the trees, "Don't move! I've got the beast!" there was a whistling sound from an arrow, the snap of a bow and the fearful scream of the sentry.

The women around Sakana were whispering and whimpering in fear. They were starting to back away from the bend in the path that lead toward the river and the protection of the village beyond. They were trying to flee into the hot springs, away from danger on instinct. But Sakana didn't move from where she stood, rigid, her mind spinning away, her memories trying to surge to the surface but failing. Her head hurt…

Shisuki stepped quickly forward and grabbed Sakana, pulling her back toward the springs, away from the sounds of danger…

Then there was a sound, a strange laughter, and above them a shadow passed, leaping from tree to tree. The trees shook around and abovethem…Sakana tried, desperately, to free herself from Shisuki's arms, to see what the creature was—and _why in the seven hells she felt attracted to it…_why did she feel she needed to follow it? But Shisuki was stronger than she was—especially so soon after her brush with death in the river, her arms were wrapped around the nameless girl, restraining her. She was never able to stare up at the passing shadow; she merely sensed it passing.

A moment later she broke free of Shisuki, frustrated, and looked through the forest in the direction that the shadow had taken. _What had it been?_

The women rushed up behind her then and all four ushered her up the path hurriedly, fear dancing in their widened eyes. They rounded the bend in the path and saw the sentry, shivering in fear, standing beside a man on a horse. A bow and a few arrows were obviously slung over his shoulder—and in the limb of one tree branch high up there was one lone arrow…

"What happened, Yume?" the eldest woman asked, shivering beside Sakana and Shisuki.

The child opened her mouth to speak but the man on his horse interrupted her before she could even make a sound, "I came down the path trailing a beast I saw along the river. When I came the girl saw me and called out the alarm, and the beast was about to spring on her but I shot at it and scared it off." Sakana felt a shiver of unease pass through her. She didn't believe everything the man said. He was wearing armor, she saw, a sure sign he was a samurai…

The women moved forward and began to bow before him respectfully. They chanted and muttered their enormous thanks to him, and to Sakana's disgust they weren't just faking. She could see the stunned admiration in their eyes. They were helpless! Sakana felt her hands curl into fists. _Give me that bow and an arrow and I'll show this samurai thug whose boss!_

When the samurai noticed that she wasn't bowing he cocked his head and narrowed his eyes at her. "Wench," he hissed, "Where are your manners, I just saved your life!"

The other women looked to her, horrified that she would remain standing as the samurai questioned her…had she forgotten even how to give proper respect? Shisuki grabbed Sakana's ankle and tugged on her frantically.

She didn't budge. "No you didn't." she told the samurai, blinking calmly.

His face flushed a livid crimson, "You miserable bitch!" he shouted and the other women closed their eyes tightly in fear, shaking their heads. They remained absolutely still. Sakana didn't even blink when he screeched at her, she calmly regarded him, considering his bow and arrow…_I wielded such tools once…I _know_ I did…_

"I should kill you for this insolence! Not only am I a samurai, you half-witted bitch, but I just saved your worthless life!" spittle flew from his lips as he spoke; it landed in his horse's mane. The animal looked genuinely bored by the whole exchange. Sakana felt the same way.

"I don't believe we were in very much danger. And had I had a bow and a few arrows I wouldn't have missed." She smirked when his face blanched with shock at her words.

The samurai drew his sword, ready to kill her, his face a mask of fury…

Shisuki leapt to her feet and stood in front of Sakana, bowing from the waist up, desperately begging the samurai to listen to her. "Sir, good and dear lord, I beg you, have mercy on this girl. She was pulled from the river but a week ago with a terrible bump to her head. She remembers nothing—not even her own name! Please forgive her—she doesn't know the weight of her words!"

The samurai snorted with disgust and sheathed his sword. "Her words hold _no_ weight. She's merely insane. She's not worth killing." He yanked hard on his horse's reins and the beast abruptly opened its eyes wide and wheeled around, its hooves kicked up dirt on the other three women and the young sentry who were still bowing.

The three women and the sentry quickly brushed themselves off and sprinted up the path, leaving the hot springs and the other two girls alone. Shisuki's face was red with some indeterminate emotion, as she looked hard at Sakana, her brown eyes narrowed.

"You almost got yourself _killed_ Sakana! If you were like this before your accident it's a wonder you lived to this age at all!" the younger girl turned and quickly ran away up the path, following the other women. After a moment Sakana followed her, feeling bitter. _What was that thing? Why do I not respect samurais? I know I should've just bowed…why is it I feel like I'm not one of these people? Why do I feel that way? I must've been just like them before!_

She looked to the quickly retreating forms of the other women, the sentry, and Shisuki, and she felt embarrassed, ashamed. Yet at once there was something inside her that refused to believe that she'd been wrong, a stubborn streak that screamed in her ear that she was _different_ from them…_she didn't belong with them in that village…_she didn't even belong in the kimono she was wearing!

Something stirred in her and she turned to look back into the shadowy forest once, searching it for something—though she knew not quite what…

After a moment she jogged to catch up with the others, leaving her instincts, the hot springs, the river, and the creature behind her.

* * *

High up in a tree a mile or so away, a half-demon by the name of Inuyasha was pondering his encounter with the bathers and the samurai thug. He knew, because he'd trailed them after his attack on them the night before, that the samurais were taking their wounded to the nearest village for treatment. At first he'd thought that harassing them might make him feel better, might take his mind away from the fact that he could _smell her._

It was the river. Her body must've washed up somewhere nearby—he could scent the lingering heavenly aroma, oddly enough it didn't smell of death at all…but it was always faint, and the hanyou wasn't one to believe his nose over his eyes. He'd _seen_ Kagome go over the cliff, fall into oblivion. And he knew a mortal shouldn't have survived the fall or the ride through the water afterwards. And Kagome, for as wonderful, powerful, and beautiful as she was, had been mortal.

_Smelling_ her meant nothing…_nothing…_yet even so he couldn't stop shaking his head in wonder at it. The scent had been along the river and also at the hot spring. But although he'd paused to observe the bathers for a moment—when they had their clothes on of course—the samurai had come upon him, startling him, and then the sentry and seen him and screamed…and it was silly of him…

_Kagome was dead…_only his guilt made him smell her. The grief he still felt inside because he'd never said the things he should've to her, never spoken his heart to her…and now she was dead. If she'd been alive he would've smelled her more, or seen her among the bathers…no, it was only his grief, his guilt that had led him to the river, forced him to follow her scent…

He groaned to himself, fighting his own emotions down, swallowing the lump in his throat. He needed to kill something…anything…

The samurais were in the village…he could _at least_ scare them…

And the river…the Jewel Shards…the _Shards…_he had to find them before someone else found them…The hanyou leapt from his perch in the tree and ran through the forest, a red streak, a crimson flash.

He was heading for the river…

Endnote: the next chapter is "The River." I've already given you a clip from it...basically Kagome is drawn to something in the river...you'll see...but for the hint, here goes:

_"Well…" she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, "Think about it Miroku: a village is the most likely place for anything to happen. If Inuyasha **has** gone completely feral he might attack the village for food. If some other demon finds the shards and empowers itself with them it'll attack the nearest place to the river—and that's the village."_

_Miroku was nodding slowly, "Yes, my dear Sango," the words were idly said, the monk was actually in deep thought and not trying to embarrass the demon slayer, but nonetheless she blushed red and looked away when Miroku spoke again, "I think that makes sense…but there's also the samurai castle on the other side of the mountains…" _

_Sango looked back at him now, an angry expression clearly written all over her face, "You just want to go there because there will be pretty princesses and courtesans for you to pop your ridiculous question to." she snarled._

Okay, I'm sorry it doesnt look like too much of a hint but (sighs) at least you can get a little of a laugh out of it AND you get to see that soon Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Shippo will be on their way to the village...will they find Kagome? Hehe...sorry again that I was late, but I gotta get going again...(sighs) Hope you enjoy, thank you for reading and please drop me a line kay? THANK YOU!! till next time...next is "The River." see you then...


	7. The River

**Disclaimer** I DO NOT own Inuyasha (but I WISH I did...) OR Keane's lyrics from "Somwhere Only We Know." excellant song by the way...go and listen! YAY!

**A/N:** Okay, So Much for the Hanyou's Happy Ending is over...(cries) but I've had a lot of its fans asking me for the name of the sequel...The truth is I am not sure of what to call it yet myself...when I DO know I shall tell you, rest assured (winks). For now I must apologize to you all-seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately (frowns)-this update is mucho late. I have nothing to say for myself except that it WAS going to be ontime until my parents (this was back on Tuesday or weds night) decided to forbid me writing on ANYTHING that wasn't a scholarship. They called me lazy and blah blah blha. I proved them wrong. That night I entered not one, not two, but THREE scholarships online. HA! So I regained my privelages, 'cept then I was SO tired for the rest of this week that I just about forgot. I mean I haven't been writing at all! No wonder I feel so crappy right now. Writing's like food for my soul most of the time...so I'm starving...well, I hope you like this chapter, it's simple and solves the "Sacred Jewel" problems...it might be sloppier than usual b/c I NEED to give you this update to make up for its tardiness, so please forgive me (grins sheepihsly)! Well enjoy, drop me a line!

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****The River**

_"I walked across an empty land_

_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand_

_I felt the earth beneath my feet_

_Sat by the river and it made me complete…"_

* * *

Four young women and a small child waded across the shallow river. The water came to their calves, rushing and hissing as it passed, flowing eagerly. The women shivered and pulled their kimonos higher as they walked, slowly, trying their hardest to avoid slipping and being dragged under by the violent current. The river had been known to drag away small children who didn't watch their step. It was a little like a predator, a wolf or a fox, and never trustworthy.

The little girl that had acted as the sentry for the bathers at the hot springs clung helplessly to one of the oldest woman. If anyone had stared at them for more than a moment they'd have noted that the small girl and the woman looked incredibly alike—in fact they were mother and daughter. They worked together as they crossed the perilous current and successfully reached the opposite bank.

One by one all five found their way across the river's fury. As they stepped into the dirt on the other bank their wet toes caught the dirt, dripping, dampening it. The sticky stuff clung to them, dirtying the soles of their feet. When all five of them had crossed without mishap they looked about themselves and then realized one of their number was missing, and immediately all heads turned toward the river, eyes alert and flashing with alarm.

One of them was a dark brown haired girl aged about fourteen years in a blue and yellow kimono named Shisuki. Her face was ashen and gray as she stared back across the river fearfully.

"Sakana!"

On the opposite bank a girl of somewhere between fifteen and sixteen years was standing, her eyes glazed over, her hair flat and wet; her face was pallid. She seemed deaf to the other women's cries. Slowly, as the others watched, she turned away from them and began to walk along the riverbank on her side, like a zombie.

The eldest woman with the little girl looked to Shisuki in consternation, her face a mangled frown. "Shisuki! Go and get her! Make her cross the river! I think she must be terrified of it, after what happened to her! How could you leave her behind like that!"

With her head bowed in shame Shisuki started across the river again, pulling her kimono up once more. Her progress was slow, and across the river Sakana was making better headway, she was already some ten feet farther from the crossing point—the water there grew slightly deeper, the river narrower, the current more deadly…_where is she going!_ Shisuki wondered, biting her lips as the water sloshed around her knees when she stepped into a deeper hole. Slime caressed her toes and she grimaced…_just a little further…_

On the opposite riverbank Sakana was following an invisible string in her mind. The tingling at the back of her skull had grown to a fever pitch; it only lessened when she walked along the river. If she stopped for a moment or tried to turn away it grew anew, scratching at her, making her head ache excruciatingly, her stomach broil and her throat raw. She felt as if she wouldn't be able to breathe unless she removed whatever was bothering her…

Across the river she could see the other women calling to her, trying to wave at her and catch her attention. She spared them nothing more than a few glances before the terrible pull of whatever strange force had her in its grasps reclaimed her. The pain inside her head swirled when she tried to fight it.

Her feet lifted up and set themselves down again almost of their own will. She had no control over them at all…

Shisuki, meanwhile, had reached Sakana's side of the river and was hurriedly running to catch up with her. The girl's breath panted ferociously, her feet were muddied and dripping wet, as were the edges of her kimono. A scowl covered her normally pretty face—she was distressed. _How did I let the girl out of my sight! She's so lost and clueless! She didn't even bow to the samurai that saved our lives! _

She reached Sakana and grabbed her around the waist roughly. "C'mon Sakana! This isn't the way you want to go!" she tried to pull the girl backward, toward the wider, shallower part of the stream that the people of the village had used to cross the river for countless generations…

Sakana screamed, her voice high-pitched and wild, a frenzied, frantic call. She squirmed and twisted in the other girl's grip, turning round just enough to place her palm to Shisuki's chest. "Let _go!"_ she commanded and the place were her hand rested against Shisuki's chest glowed a strange bluish light…Shisuki screamed in shock and jumped away, looking between her kimono and the strange girl standing before her.

"What's _wrong_ with you!" Shisuki breathed, shaking in fear.

Sakana blinked, looking dazed. "What? Shisuki…I…"

Shisuki took a step away from her; the girl's face a wall of fear. "You're not human are you?" she whispered, shocked, "Just like Toka was always saying…"

Sakana stared at her, the large, soft brown eyes full of sadness. "I honestly don't know Shisuki…" she fought the tears in her eyes abruptly, "I don't remember _anything!"_ she looked to the ground, ashamed of herself, looking at her hands as if she'd only just noticed that she had them, "I never meant to hurt you, it's just that there's _something_ about the river…I _had_ to follow it…" even as she spoke it her eyes became hazy once more, the strange force pulling her again further upstream. She turned and began to walk, dazedly, away from the stunned Shisuki.

The women across the river stared, muted with awe. Not a one of them understood what had just transpired, but they knew that Sakana was clearly not like them, and fear was beginning to stir inside their hearts. The youngest girl moved the quickest. Cupping her hands to her mouth she called Shisuki's name.

"Come back, leave her Shisuki! We'll follow her wherever she goes from over here!"

Shisuki glanced swiftly to the other women, gaping like fish out of water. In a moment she frowned and made up her mind. "No!" she called across the river, "I'll follow her form over here. I don't think she's a monster…" she looked ahead to see that Sakana was well ahead of her now, stepping over a few rocks to avoid a shallow inlet of water. Shisuki skipped after the older girl, almost enthusiastically.

Across the river the other women shook their heads in bafflement and walked onward, keeping pace with Shisuki and Sakana.

Beyond a bend in the river Shisuki saw that Sakana had come within sight distance of the very place where she and Toka had discovered the girl. On the opposite side of the river where the other women were walking parallel to the strange girl the riverbank's slope changed, becoming flat and sandy. It was a perfect little beach. Only a few feet out the water deepened and a few rocks stuck out their heads here and there, the current swirling in little eddies around them. Yet right on the warm sand of the river's beach a few women were sitting about, piles of laundry strewn about them, waiting to be washed. This part of the river was where the people of the village cleaned their clothing…it was exactly where the strange girl had washed up from the river's currents.

_Why was she drawn back to this place?_ Shisuki wondered, swallowing nervously as Sakana's steps quickened, her search nearing its end, its payday…

The pale, long legged girl in the short green kimono Shisuki's mother had made for her, reached a spot just upstream of where she herself had been found and stopped. For several long moments all the women were silent. The women washing their clothing across the river gawked in surprise at Sakana, thoroughly confused. Finally, blinking several times as if she herself were confused by what she was about to do, Sakana stepped into the water.

Everyone was tense, wondering what would happen as she started to wade into the stronger current, the deeper waters…one step, two, three…she stumbled once and then stood tall, erect, her eyes glazed but somehow at once sharp. Shisuki was close enough to see the wheels spinning about inside the other girl's head, pondering her next action it seemed, carefully.

A moment later she knelt so that her knees disappeared below the water's surface and her hands dipped into the inky blackness…Shisuki stepped forward, ready to run and rescue the still weak girl if she should slip and be dragged away by the river's ferocious current. Yet even as Shisuki worried Sakana's legs seemed to stabilize, her eyes became focused, she was thinking clearly—searching with her fingertips…

Her arms disappeared up to her shoulders, her black hair, still wet and warm from the hot springs, slipped from her shoulders and kissed the water's rough surface. A little steam rose as cold met hot and the women all stared, transfixed. Sakana bent still lower and now the gurgling, rushing flow of river water was billowing up at her face touching her lips and nose. Shisuki saw Sakana squint her eyes closed abruptly and she ducked her head into the blackness of the river.

The women began to cry out with alarm. Shisuki rushed forward, plunging into the river, fighting the current…but her foot landed on a sharp edged rock and she screeched in sudden pain and lurched forward, fighting to current and gravity to keep herself out of the water and out of danger. She looked up just in time to see Sakana stand back up, her black hair flinging sparkling droplets, like diamonds through the sunlight…

And in her hands, covered with river slime and muck, there was a golden chain and a pendant that glowed an amazing purple…all of the women stared at it, thunderstruck all over again.

Sakana gingerly began to clean the necklace, heedless of the stunned, gaping women around her. When it was mostly free of muck and slime she pulled it over her head and slid it underneath her kimono, shivering as the cold metal of the chain touched her skin and the water from the river dribbled from it over her flesh. Then, as if nothing had ever been amiss, she stumbled from the river, looking fatigued but pleased. A great weight had been removed from her shoulders as she trudged back to land, joining Shisuki.

"What did you find, Sakana?" Shisuki asked, her eyes still wide and shocked, "And…_how_ did you know where it was?"

Sakana blinked at her for a moment, uncertainly. After a second she shrugged, "Honestly I don't know…" her stare became unfocused, "I guess it was calling to me…"

* * *

On all fours, like an animal from the forest, the hanyou Inuyasha reached the river, and, cautiously, peered down along its length from his position in the branches of a tree that hung out over the swirling currents. Taking in the wind the half dog demon knew that there were women up ahead, downstream of him, washing clothes in the waters. If he was careful they'd never need to know he'd passed through…but he chuckled at the thought of seeing the expressions on their faces if they _did_ see him…

And then a particular scent caught him—like the cologne or perfume of an old lover, or the smell of baking cookies from Grandma's house—the hanyou _recognized_ one of the women on this river…

Kagome? 

The thought of the shards immediately fled from him at the slightest hint of her…

A wild need arose inside him and the hanyou sprung from the tree, landing just barely on the riverbank, his heels splashing at the edge of the water. He gripped the grass with his claws and ducked low, using its height to shield himself from the women on the opposite bank who were quietly washing their clothes. Once he was within the shadow of the deeper, thicker forest, Inuyasha leapt and ran steadily, running with the flow of the water, squinting with his eyes and straining with his nose, trying to discover the truth behind the scent that had so intrigued him…

_It _**couldn't** _be…_

But it _smelled _like it was…

The hanyou stopped finally and crept furtively forward, keeping his body low among the reeds. A few feet shy of the riverbank and the end of the forest and reeds he peered out, desperately hoping that in the bright sunlight his amber eyes wouldn't flicker and flash and give out his position…

His hopes were in vain.

A woman screamed from the other side of the river where she'd been holding a white kimono robe into the water, wetting it. Somewhere in the course of her work she'd had her eyes pointed right at the spot where Inuyasha stuck out his head—and shed seen the bright crimson flash of his haori immediately. Suddenly the river was awash in frightened voices, the smell of fear and human sweat. Inuyasha growled and cursed below his breath. _Damn those humans! They're all so flighty!_

A man's voice rose up now, and Inuyasha felt his stomach clench with surprise—horses! When he looked in the direction of the loud, thundering sound, and saw a man with a bow and arrow atop a large and powerful gray horse. His armor and helmet and demeanor as he nearly ran over the fleeing women and children to get to the river were enough to identify him as a samurai, but Inuyasha had a hunch… He lifted his nose quickly and scented the wind…yes, it was the same samurai that'd harassed him when he'd been at the hot springs!

An arrow whizzed through the air and dug itself with a loud _thunk!_ sound into the dirt before Inuyasha. Snarling, the hanyou turned round on his heel and dashed back into the trees—out of sight and out of danger.

Behind him the samurai's horse stopped midway across the river, snorting and huffing at the cold water about its hooves. The samurai sneered at the trees where the crimson demon had disappeared, disappointed, and then turned the beast back toward the village, calling, "Fear not ladies! I have saved all of thee again!" (A/N: I hate this samurai! I think you learn his name next chapter, Namaru...)

* * *

Sakana and Shisuki were already within the village's walls when the commotion came up at the river. Both young women stopped and watched as the washerwomen hurried passed them their faces ashen with fear. Sakana felt her spine stiffen when she heard them murmur of a "scarlet demon."

Shisuki shook her head and took hold of Sakana's arm, "Ignore them Sakana, they'll talk forever. It's all that miserable samurai's doing!" the younger girl dragged Sakana away reluctantly, "C'mon, we need to show Mijai that thing you found in the river! It sure looks special!"

Uncertainly Sakana followed, her free hand rising to her throat where the strange purple jewel pendant in its clear case on the golden chain clearly rested under her kimono. _What is this thing I found? Why was I drawn to it? what did I do to Shisuki and why when she tried to stop me? Why does talk of demons affect me so much? I've never even seen one as far as I can recall…_

She walked behind Shisuki with her head bowed, weighed heavily down by thoughts she didn't understand-by her missing memories.

Endnote: I can't give anymore hints for now as I haven't written out anything too far...(sighs)...that and if I keep feeding you stuff before hand it'll ruin your reading later, and my AOL STILL won't work! (sighs)...but at any rate I hope you enjoyed this chapter and...Oh nevermind, I'll give you a paragrapgh or two anyway...this is from the next chapter, called "Good Days Gone." It introduces the character Koshi, who's a sweet, well-meaning young man with the samurais...

_And then his eyes landed on a strange girl wearing a short green and white kimono…she was standing beside the gates of the village, staring out into the open rice fields and crops the villagers had planted as both food and a source of income. Her long black hair was fluffy with a look of cleanliness; it flowed about her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. She was leaning on the opened gates, fingering a golden chain about her neck that ended with a few shimmering purple gems. They caught the fading sunlight and flashed before Koshi's eyes, dazzling him. _

_Koshi's stomach fluttered, his palms broke out in a sweat, his face suddenly burned, and the rest of the world had faded around him completely… _

_He'd fallen in love before he could even blink._

Well there you are, that's a little from Koshi-sama...that's all next chapter...see ya...drop me a line kay? (pleeeeaaassse! (grins))


	8. Good Days Gone

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha OR Bonnie McKee's very sad but sweet lyrics...

**A/N:** This chapter introduces Koshi, a well meaning guy of the Feudal Era who, on sight, is smitten with Kagome ((grins) C'mon they all are, and we know it! I just had to write it...) It also explains the samurais and such, who they are, what they're like...remember Namaru guys, he'll be back playing a larger role still in the next few chapters...particularly Chapter 10 called: "She's Alive." Can you guess what THAT one's about? Hmm? Yes...next chapter Kagome/Sakana idly uses the dreaded S-word...hehe...I had fun writing the next two chapters, but this one's just gotta come first.

That's all for now ladies and gents, I'm sorry to say that due to my expanding schedule and Homecoming last week and such, I've been unable to write much, fix my computer, update, or anything...(BIG sigh). It's play practice. We have it from now on until March sometime. Also my choral stuff is catching up to me too...and scholarships, and graduation, and friends and guys...(More sighs)...but things WILL get better later in March, I promise, b/c then the play is OVER! (screams!) Also I am making progress on So Much For The Hanyou's Happy Ending...I have nearly enough chapters with it to start posting. As for what I'm going to call it...(shrugs) I haven't the foggiest idea, but traditionally I name my stories after songs...(well, the last two of them I did anyway...) Does anyone have a good song title that would work for a story name too? Well as always, drop me a line...I apologize for my lack of time...(sighs) I'm so apathetic about life sometimes...I'm sorry...but reviews **would** encourage me...God knows I wouldn't have been able to finish So Much For The Hanyou's Happy Ending if it hadn't been for all of YOU guys and the steady encouragement...seriously! (cries!) I LOVE hearing from you guys...(sniffles...)

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**Good Days Gone**

_"Memories haunting my evenings_

_Eyes watching me through the moon_

_I hope my good days aren't over_

_Not so soon…"_

* * *

The samurai sneered at Koshi through his blocky helmet. To the young man the samurai warrior was enlarged a thousand times by such armor, by the honor and power associated with it. Only demons could wield more power it was whispered…perhaps that was why the samurais that had come with their wounded to the small village were so nervous. The Red Demon that'd attacked them only a night ago while they were camping—killing five of their number—had followed their small party to the village… 

Koshi took the reins of the horse from the samurai timidly, bowing his head as the warrior dismounted the animal, still glaring with disgust on the younger man. "Miserable slave boy," the man snarled, spitting at Koshi before he turned away and began to walk toward this village's local healer's hut—his name was Mijai, Koshi was told.

Koshi wasn't _really_ a slave to the samurais; he'd been taken in because his mother was the youngest sister of the samurai Warlord's wife. That Warlord, by the name of Lord Tsimiski, had summoned the boy into service when his parents had both been killed by demons. But Koshi wasn't old enough or strong enough to be proper samurai material—thus he became something of a page, a message runner, a helper. A slave. But in truth Koshi didn't mind it much—most of the samurais were arrogant and some even cruel—but some were actually friendly and treated him like a younger brother or even a son.

Unfortunately for Koshi of the five samurais he'd been sent with on this mission to save their wounded men, four of them were complete jerks; only one was worth talking to at all. The worst of the group was the one he'd just accepted the horse from, an arrogant archer named Namaru.

Koshi pulled gently on the horse's reins and led it toward the village's gate where several other samurai horses were tethered. Patiently Koshi tied the horse beside the others and flung a little hay for them to eat from the village's storages, then he found the bristle brush used to comb out the horses and began to comb out the debris and kinks from the all the horses' manes and tails.

As he worked the sun moved from its zenith overhead and dipped slowly toward the horizon in the west. The men and women of the village came and went around Koshi, some throwing him curious glances, but most completely ignoring him. Soon the horses were completely cleaned and Koshi decided to see if the healer would let him help with the wounded.

When they'd first come Koshi had been stricken and panicked from the Red Demon's attack. About five years ago his parents and younger sister had been slaughtered by wolf demons—so seeing the creature with the amber eyes and the ears atop its head—had turned him into a simpleton, with nothing but fear and terror on the mind. When the beast had attacked he could've grabbed a bow and arrow and shot at it with the other archers like Namaru, but instead he'd stood, still as stone in terror. He regretted that now. Unlike Namaru, who was only average with the bow and arrows, Koshi had one of the finest eyes for archery in Lord Tsimiski's whole lot of samurais…had he shot at the creature…but Koshi shrugged that thought off. He couldn't afford to let guilt drag him down now…

But if I'd moved just a little faster than maybe… 

_That_ was true. One of the warriors who was now critically injured had been his father figure among the samurais. His name was Hekamino, and unlike most of the other warriors he'd become a samurai in much the same was Koshi was—by hard work and sweat, building himself from nothing more than a peasant with a dream. But now he was old—he'd lost his hair years ago, and his beard had turned white. The skin around his eyes had crinkled with age. Hekamino was still strong in battle and in spirit especially, but Koshi could only pray that the older man survived his wounds…otherwise it would be the second father he'd lost in his short sixteen years of life…

Koshi reached the healer's hut and slipped in quietly. Namaru and another samurai were standing over the futon of one of their wounded comrades—it wasn't Hekamino. It was Fuyui—a fat slob of a samurai. If _he_ lived but Hekamino died, Koshi thought he might be sick. Life just wasn't fair! He looked around the room and spotted the other two wounded samurais. One was named Dikana and he'd been slashed across the chest by the Red Demon's claws. If his wounds didn't fester with infection the man had a chance of survival, but it was already looking bleak—the healer Mijai was standing over Dikana, patting his forehead with a moistened cloth. If Dikana had a fever than he was done for.

Like Dikana, Hekamino had been slashed, but his slashes were on the arm, neck, and shoulder of his left side. As Koshi stared at Hekamino's heavy bandages he felt a lump of fear form in his throat—the healer had put a moistened cloth over Hekamino's head as well, meaning his wounds were infected and causing a fever just as Dikana's were…they would likely both die…

Fuyui groaned then and cursed vehemently, the samurais standing over him laughed. "Fuyui, you old bastard, you're just faking…" the warrior beside Namaru snickered. His words were true enough, Koshi thought, looking at the wounds of Hekamino and Dikana in comparison with Fuyui's. Fat and slovenly Fuyui had been closest to the fire when the Red Demon had attacked, he'd been gloating over the food. When the beast had attacked it'd slashed those farthest from the fire to kill them, and merely knocked aside and cut those closer. Fuyui hand merely been kicked backward, and when he landed he'd broken his collarbone. The pain had knocked him unconscious, making the other samurais wonder if he'd had a concussion, thus they'd brought him to the healer…

Mijai looked up then from attending to Dikana's wounds and fever and saw Koshi. "May I help you?" he asked, quietly.

Those words, innocent as they were, brought on the attention of Namaru, who turned and sneered disgustedly at the young man. "Koshi!" he snarled, "You sniveling little puke! Cowards like you shouldn't disgrace this place of fallen heroes!"

Koshi forced himself to remain stoic and unaffected by the words. On past occasions had he shown any emotion whatsoever Namaru would beat him fiercely. The name-calling was a test of Koshi's strength and intelligence, of his ability to control himself—but it was also just sport for Namaru, who had a bit of a twisted mind. After years with these men Koshi had learned their ways—mostly through beatings and pain, but he was a quick student, pain had a way of teaching like nothing else could.

"I was concerned for them, is there any way that I can help, sirs?" he offered, keeping his voice light, quiet, and inoffensive.

Namaru's companion grunted, "Good boy, I'll bet there's something to be done…" but Namaru slugged the other man roughly, silencing him.

"This snot doesn't deserve to help. When the demon attacked he stood still and wet himself even though Lord Tsimiski claims he has the sharpest eyes in all of Japan!" he laughed raucously, "They're wounded while he walks. If we were half the men we should be we'd have cut the stupid lout down and given him to the damned demon!"

Koshi made the mistake of opening his mouth to object to this cruelty and Namaru's hands immediately flew to his sword sheath, "Ah, look, he agrees!"

Startled Koshi stepped backward and out of the healer's hut, Namaru's harsh laughter rining in his ears, in his skull…he fought tears abruptly, much to his shame, and then his fists clenched and he turned away from the hut, walking stiff-leggedly away. _I'm sorry Mother, Father, and especially Hekamino…I've failed you…_

He walked through the bustling village half in a daze until he found himself at the village's gates. It was sunset. The air was warmer than it had been the night before and humid. Dew was beginning to collect on the grass. Koshi looked to the sky and saw the brilliant streaks of gold and pink rising out of the west where the fiery sun was kissing the horizon. Without explanation he felt a calmness entering his soul, a strange tranquility, a peace…

And then his eyes landed on a strange girl wearing a short green and white kimono…she was standing beside the gates of the village, staring out into the open rice fields and crops the villagers had planted as both food and a source of income. Her long black hair was fluffy with a look of cleanliness; it flowed about her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. She was leaning on the opened gates, fingering a golden chain about her neck that ended with a few shimmering purple gems. They caught the fading sunlight and flashed before Koshi's eyes, dazzling him.

Koshi's stomach fluttered, his palms broke out in a sweat, his face suddenly burned, and the rest of the world had faded around him completely…

He'd fallen in love before he could even blink.

Tentatively he stepped forward until he was standing beside her, forcing his eyes off her and onto the rice fields. Slowly he sighed, as if fatigued and stretched a little, hoping she was watching…he was uncertain but he thought that her gaze had slid toward him and lingered for a moment, observing, taking him in…he prayed silently that she liked what she saw. Koshi knew he wasn't the greatest specimen among samurais, but among common villagers he was a fine catch. His hair was an almost disarming light brown that, although cropped short above his shoulders, bushed at odd angles to frame his face uniquely. His eyes were large, friendly, and brown. Physically he was an average male height, lean and lithe. No hulky samurai but a slim archer or assassin. He'd often wondered if Namaru, who was squinty-eyed and scarred from battle, harassed him so because Koshi was far better looking.

He cleared his throat, trying to be suave and smooth, "Beautiful night, isn't it?" he hated the way his voice wasn't low, like a cat's purr. He'd seen the samurais flirt with gorgeous willow-like women in the larger cities, princesses and courtesans, women he'd never dream of approaching. They were like the stuff of dreams, heavenly creatures, bright white faces on some of them, adorned by silken kimonos worth more than Koshi's own life! And always the samurais had turned their voices low and sultry, trying to seduce the women with their words alone. From what Koshi had seen it usually worked. But his voice wasn't of the same quality, age, or experience. He restrained a frown at himself and instead forced a warm smile at the young maiden.

Slowly she nodded, but she only threw him the briefest of courteous smiles before turning her attention once more to the necklace she wore. Koshi stared at it a moment too. It was a strange thing: he saw that it wasn't in fact some simple purple gem at the end; it was a tiny glass container holding several small purple gems. Was it a family heirloom?

Koshi stepped forward, squinting at the necklace, "That's really…pretty…" he murmured, uncertainly.

The girl looked up at him more keenly now. Her brown eyes were wide but sad. She didn't seem to be staring at him; rather she was looking through him, as if she couldn't see him. Koshi felt his stomach tighten in anxiety.

"I don't know what they are." She whispered.

Koshi blinked, confused, "What do you mean…?"

The girl seemed to shake her head and regain her wits. Her eyes focused on him and she appeared to have suddenly stepped back into reality. "I found this in the river today. It…I was drawn to it…"

That was strange—had Koshi been smitten with the village weirdo? He shifted uneasily and cleared his throat, "How do you mean?"

Slowly she shook her head, her eyes flew to the necklace again, "I…" she sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm babbling. I don't belong here."

"You mean by the gate?"

"No, I mean in this village. They pulled me from the river a week ago…and I can't remember anything since waking with the healer. Not even my name…" she turned away from him and dropped the necklace, her gaze was pulled to the fields where she stared, dazedly.

Koshi wasn't sure what to think, whether to believe her and take her word or to think she was just crazy…but the gems in her necklace were real—and strange enough to give it some credibility. At any rate the healer could easily check the girl's validity. If what she said was true than the healer was surely still caring for her, she'd stay with him in his home…with the samurais…and suddenly Koshi wished that she were lying. Staying in the same hut as the samurais meant that the girl was close to Namaru, and Koshi didn't like that idea in the least.

He swallowed nervously and forced his eyes away from the beautiful maiden, pursing his lips. He decided to change the subject. "There's a lot of demons around here nowadays…" he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the girl was looking at him again, his words had recaptured her attention, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickling with nervousness, "The samurais have been talking of hiring demon slayers."

The girl nodded, and after a moment ventured to ask, "Are you with the samurais then?" he noted that her tone while asking of the samurais hinted at negative feelings toward them. Koshi bit his lip and thought of lying to her but knew that such a thing would only make things worse.

"Yes, I am. My name's Koshi Asatsuki." He offered her as genuine and charming of a smile as he could, "My uncle is Lord Tsimiski." He did his best to beam with pride at that, and, of course, failed to mention that they were only related through distant marriage.

The girl dipped her head quietly in acknowledgement and tried to smile, but Koshi could see it was weak—she wasn't happy. "I'd tell you what my name was and who my parents were and that sort of thing," she blinked a moment and then came up with a name for him right on the spot, "Koshi-sama, but I can't remember anything." Her fist tightened over the strange necklace and Koshi looked away, his expression dark and unfathomable.

"I'm sorry…" he started, but she interrupted him.

"But they call me Sakana here, because I was pulled from the river. You can call me that."

Koshi nodded; trying to keep his face from betraying the surprise he felt that the villagers called such a pretty girl _fish._ "I'd be honored."

* * *

Perched on Miroku's shoulder, Shippo was shivering in misery. For something close to a week he, Miroku, Sango, and Kilala had set about tracking down Inuyasha. But that was _far_ easier said than done. The hanyou traveled mainly through the trees, if those were available, making him nigh on impossible to trail by scent or by prints. Without really meaning to Inuyasha had left his friends far behind and had covered all his tracks _very_ well. 

Sango couldn't help but wonder if the hanyou did it on purpose…

But through persistence, and frequent harassment of the two youkai with them—Kilala and Shippo—they'd managed to track Inuyasha to the plains. Of course they knew little of how long he'd been there, whether he'd made a beeline straight for the flat ground outside of the mountainous forest, or perhaps if he was just wandering aimlessly. They knew of no way to predict where he might go—unless it was to the river or the nearest village. None of them were certain what his next move might be.

But he was on the plains. That much they were certain of—they'd seen evidence that he was wild, or so they thought. On a field at the edge of the forest Shippo and Kilala had both smelled samurais—or rather, what was left of them. Several had been cut down on the spot, sitting around their fires. Inuyasha's scent lingered amongst the dead heavily. But it seemed to have happened a day or so ago—the scents were quickly fading. The battleground was so frayed that Shippo and Kilala couldn't tell where Inuyasha had gone after the attack. He was once more missing—which likely meant that the hanyou had left via the trees and the forest.

"Well," Shippo sighed unhappily when the fragmented group settled nearby the scene of Inuyasha's apparent crime, lighting a fire and making camp for the night, "What do we do now?"

There was silence around the small fire. From his place on Miroku, Shippo sighed again, thoroughly depressed. The group hadn't been the least bit happy since Kagome's death—Shippo doubted that they'd ever be right again…and Inuyasha was out there somewhere in the night, wild and untamable once again, which was as frightening as Naraku ever was. The jewel shards were also unaccounted for. Who knew what kind of terrible creature was gloating over them, seeking them, using them greedily to strengthen their powers and to kill innocents, both youkai and human alike?

Shippo shivered.

Sango spoke up then, abruptly answering the little kit's question, although the time to do so had long since passed, "Isn't there a village nearby? Perhaps we should go there…"

Miroku looked up, bumping Shippo about a little with the movement, "Why to a village, Sango?"

"Well…" she paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, "Think about it Miroku: a village is the most likely place for anything to happen. If Inuyasha _has_ gone completely feral he might attack the village for food. If some other demon finds the shards and empowers itself with them it'll attack the nearest place to the river—and that's the village."

Miroku was nodding slowly, "Yes, my dear Sango," the words were idly said, the monk was actually in deep thought and not trying to embarrass the demon slayer, but nonetheless she blushed red and looked away when Miroku spoke again, "I think that makes sense…but there's also the samurai castle on the other side of the mountains…"

Sango looked back at him now, an angry expression clearly written all over her face, "You just want to go there because there will be pretty princesses and courtesans for you to pop your ridiculous question to." she snarled. Shippo, still on the monk's shoulder, nodded, rolling his green eyes.

Miroku appeared genuinely surprised, but only for a moment. "Actually I suggested it because demons are perhaps even more likely to attack samurais. With their arrogance the samurais are despised by youkai, are they not?"

"I don't know. Demons generally don't care who they attack. I've helped just as many poor and weak villages as I have rich lords and stuck up samurai warriors." Sango shrugged, "But I believe the village is a better place to try in regards to Inuyasha."

Slowly Miroku sighed, "It's not as far to the village as it is to the castle from here. You're right Sango…" he paused, bluish eyes sparkling in the firelight, "But I wonder _why_ Inuyasha attacked these samurais…and would he trail them afterwards?"

This time Shippo answered, jumping from Miroku's shoulder to sit beside the small fire, looking between the monk and the demons slayer as he spoke, "I know why he did it."

The humans looked down at the kitsune with bafflement, "You do?" they asked at once.

Shippo nodded, "They were roasting meat over their fires. Inuyasha could probably smell it for miles away…"

Sango looked skeptical, "Could it be that simple?"

Miroku threw the demon slayer a sly look, "Didn't you ever notice how ravenously Inuyasha ate whenever Kagome…" his voice died, strangling itself about then as both Sango and Shippo, even Kilala lowered their eyes, each averting the other's gaze. Miroku bit his lips and cursed himself silently. The conversation was dead, as dead as the meat Inuyasha had stolen from the samurais, as dead as the samurais who'd gotten in the hungry hanyou's way.

_As dead as Kagome was now…_

* * *

Sorry to end on such a negative sounding note, but we all really know she's not dead for real, she just doesn't remember...hehe...I have to go now and post or it'll never get done! I hope you enjoyed this one...leave me a review! (whimpers, begs) I'm sorry (seriously I am, I want to quit but I can't, as a senior it's my last play I just kinda HAVE to be in it even though I hate it...) for my schedule's tightness, I hate my extracurricular activities...(cries)...but enough of my whining eh? See you later... 


	9. The Red Demon

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha or Keane's lyrics...

**A/N:** I'm posting this as fast as I can, I'm sorry about the delay (it's been like a week, no?) And so I'm not proofreadin gthis like I should or could and I'm leaving only one note up here for you to think about as you read, and one later to a reviewer...here goes: Look for it in this chapter, you MIGHT just miss it...Sakana/Kagome says something idly that we all love and hold dear, all of us that is, but the ever adored red hanyou. So write in and tell me whether you catch it or not...(grins)...on with the story!

**

* * *

****The Red Demon**

_"I don't know your face no more_

_Or feel the touch that I adore_

_I don't know your face no more_

_It's just a place I'm looking for…"_

* * *

Mijai had made sure that Sakana was out of sight of the samurai warriors most of the time by letting her stay with Shisuki's family. Sakana was a littlr embarrassed at this—although she liked Shisuki and her mother the two males of the family weren't so pleased to have her with them. Shisuki's younger brother, Toka, never missed a chance to glare at her threateningly, and Sakana, in return, never met him in the eye to give him the satisfaction. Their father, whose name was Jasou, never so much as looked at Sakana unless he had to, which made the nameless girl feel nervous and belittled. She found herself lingering outside the household as much as possible, near the gates, near the pumps where the women drew their water, and near the stable where the horses—both the peasants' and the samurais'—were kept.

It was at the gates that she'd met Koshi. Although he didn't impress her much she was pleased to have found someone to talk to—and it seemed the young man felt the same way about her, for he seemed to have a knack at finding her.

As night descended Sakana watched the horses, sitting atop a stall fence, her fingers fiddling with the strange gem shards at her neck. She was watching Koshi, listening to him chatter. Well…she was _half_ listening. The other half was tingling and alive, just as it had been at the river, sensing the strange gems. She risked looking toward the gates of the village, her eyes hazy in the dark, worried.

_There's something out there…_

Koshi was calling her name, well, her _new name_ anyway. She blinked and looked back to him, "What is it Koshi-sama?"

His face twisted with her respectful term, "I wish you wouldn't do that," he mumbled, shyly. She felt a small smile spread across her face. _How sweet!_ She thought: _He's embarrassed!_

"Why?" she asked, still tickled by the young man's expression, but the strange feelings within her writhed and twisted abruptly, and as soon as she asked it she looked away, back toward the gates of the village, her eyes narrowed.

"Because we're about the same age, aren't we? I'm not old enough for you to call me that…" he became more embarrassed still as he asked, "How old are you anyway? 15 maybe? I'm sixteen you know…" as she looked back to him she noted that his posture and the tone of his voice indicated his pride in the number. What was special about it?

She blinked, "Congratulations Koshi-sama," she dipped her head to him and smiled warmly. What else was she supposed to say? She searched her mind but there was nothing else in it…just a saying…_sweet sixteen…_

He was embarrassed again. She watched him shake his head as he grabbed a fistful of horsehair and began to comb it carefully. The boy took great care in his work; she admired the way his hands traveled through the animal's rough hair, and the way he made sure not to pull on it too roughly, thinking of the animal's comfort rather than speed and efficiency. After a moment of this she noticed that Koshi had asked something of her again, and she had missed it, _again…_

"What?"

"Sakana-sama," she smirked at the respectful title, he was being smart with her, "I asked how old _you_ are now…fifteen? Sixteen maybe?" he hadn't turned away from combing the horse's hair to ask, and she was glad for that—she didn't want him to see how her face fell at the question. She looked to the ground; her eyes fell on a lumpy pile of horse manure.

"I don't remember Koshi-sama." She muttered, biting her lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Once more he was embarrassed, she could tell by the way he suddenly threw himself into the work again, roving the comb over the beast's pelt roughly. The horse snorted, apparently taking offence. One of the hind hooves stomped threateningly. Sakana stifled a laugh when she heard Koshi curse at the animal under his breath, "Damn stallion."

Silence continued between them, but Sakana didn't mind it—though Koshi did. Finally, with a sigh, Koshi turned from the horse and walked back toward the stall door, passed Sakana as he did so. She noticed the timid glances he threw her as he passed, unlatching and latching the stall's gate, but she said nothing, just smiled quietly. The young man disappeared into the barn briefly, putting away the comb and reemerging this time with a pick to clean out the horse's hooves. By the time he was back in the stall Sakana had turned all her attention to the necklace and its purple gems once more. Koshi tried to hide the disappointed look he felt growing on his face by going straight to work on the horse's hooves.

Several minutes later, when he'd finished with one horse; he turned back to Sakana and sighed loudly. "I think I'm done for tonight. Namaru might kill me for it but I'm not doing his horse tonight."

She looked back to him curiously, "Namaru?"

Koshi scowled, "Yes, one of the samurais."

Sakana nodded and then looked up at the stars, trying to judge how late it was—but she hadn't the foggiest idea. It was probably time for her to return to Shisuki's family, but she hated the idea…sensing Toka's disapproving stare and Jasou's cold indifference didn't exactly make her feel welcome…

Koshi dropped the pick he'd used to clean the horse's hooves onto the ground and let out another sigh, but this time it was one more of contented weariness. "Sakana?" he asked, his voice calm and even.

She looked down at him and smiled, "Yes?"

"Can I talk to you?" he sounded, and looked nervous abruptly.

Sakana blinked at him, "I thought we _were_ talking, Koshi-sama…"

He grinned, but the nervousness still shone on in his handsome brown eyes, "You've gotta stop calling me that…I'm not your superior in any way!"

She smiled again, easily, and moved slightly on the railing she was sitting on, then she patted the spot next to her, "C'mon, sit then…" her voice slipped from her mouth easily enough, but the moment the second word burst off her tongue she felt the tingling inside her mind increase tenfold. Fearfully she looked around, startled, almond eyes alight with alarm. _What happened? What's different?_

Koshi was beside her in a second, concerned, "What's the matter, Sakana?"

She looked back at him and frowned uncertainly. "I don't know. I…" she laughed nervously and waved one hand absently, "It's nothing. What did you want to say?" she hated being so weird, so different from the villagers. She hated not remembering her name or her age, or where she came from, or who her parents were. She _hated_ it. And she hated the strange gems hanging at her throat; she somehow _knew_ that they were trouble, that they ruined lives. Perhaps they'd ruined _her_ life...

Koshi cleared his throat and let his eyes drift from her. She noticed with some amusement that just as hers had earlier when she was uncomfortable, the young man focused his gaze on the pile of horse poop before he spoke. "What are you going to do?"

She scowled, confused by the vagueness of the question, "What am I going to do when, Koshi-sama?" Even in the darkness she could see the blush over his face. She was starting to realize, even only a day into knowing him, that it was a common expression.

"When the samurais leave? What will you do here in this village? Do you plan to stay here until you regain your memories?" he stared openly at her now, making steady eye contact, which unnerved her. Why did she meet his eyes and think that the warm brown color in his irises should've been lighter, almost golden? Was it a memory, or a fantasy? She didn't know, couldn't tell. And as far as his question went she was clueless.

She looked away, "I don't know, Koshi…" she hesitated a moment before adding, "…sama…" which made the young man roll his eyes and shake his head.

"You should think about it Sakana…"

"About what?"

"About your future."

She looked away, frowning deeply. "Why? And how? When I can't even remember where I've been, how am I supposed to go ahead?"

She felt something warm and surprisingly soft touch her hand and slide itself over it. When she looked down she blinked realizing it was Koshi's hands… "Sakana…" she looked up into his handsome brown eyes, feeling a strange mixture of emotions running through her: confusion, pain, fear, and most of all uncertainty. "Did you ever think that maybe the you before this was…unhappy? Maybe there's a _reason_ that she almost drowned in the river, maybe there's a reason _you_ can't remember your past. Maybe it's bad, maybe you don't _want_ to remember…"

She closed her eyes, suddenly fighting tears. _What if he's right?_ But she couldn't accept that…how could she go on through the rest of her life being called _fish?_ She had to have a past, a life, a place she needed to be…_she felt it…outside…_

Sakana looked up, the pain abruptly forgotten. Her breath caught in her throat. "Something's coming."

Koshi's hands tightened on hers, "What? What's coming? What do you mean?"

One of the horses whinnied frantically then, catching wind of something it _really_ didn't like. Koshi stared at the frightened animal, blinking in his own version of fear, too stunned to move. Sakana, on the other hand, was already swinging her legs off the railing, jumping free of the stall, and running toward the village's gates. Behind her a moment later she heard Koshi crying out her name, but she was beyond listening…

_Whatever it is that's coming…it's got something to do with **me**_.

When she was almost to the gates three samurais suddenly appeared, their eyes wide in fright, their faces flushed as white as the bright moon shining above, all of them were rushing in from the outside where they'd been acting as guards. She saw their swords shining in the moonlight, rendered useless by their owners' fears.

And the last samurai that ran in was one she recognized…the samurai that she'd refused to bow to, the one Mijai was protecting her from, she knew. She stared dumbly at him for a moment until one of the other samurais saw her and sneered at her, jeering, "Move it girl! The Red Demon's out there, and coming _fast!_ You want to die this night, little wench?"

Sakana blinked at him, but she didn't step down. The samurai had already run passed her, apparently uncaring whether she really did live or die, more concerned with saving his own skin than anything else. But his yelling at her had caught _someone_ else's attention…

"Look who it is! The little ungrateful bitch from the hot springs!"

She looked back toward the gate and saw the samurai leering at her, only about three feet away. His eyes were small and squinty, dark and hateful. She could easily make out the wrinkles about his eyes and the downcast corners of his mouth…_yes, it's the same samurai…_

"Come here bitch! I think the Red Demon would like a word with you!" the samurai lunged at her, his bulky, strong; armored arms enclosed her in cold iron. She kicked and screamed at him, cursing a few times, but he refused to let go. In a few moments she saw he was walking her towards the gate…she could see the river shimmering in the distance, the rice fields alive with the moonlight. It seemed innocent enough, but she knew from Koshi that what the samurais called the Red Demon had killed five of them easily and had injured the three men Mijai was now caring for. It'd eat her as a dinnertime snack without blinking…or would it?

"Let go!" she screeched, and then, without thinking about it, she flung one curled fist back into the samurai's face and he yelped in pain.

"You _bitch!_" he snarled in her ear, his breath stank like rotting meat, Sakana thought she might gag. "Now I'll let you die _for sure_! I'll leave the Red Demon alive just long enough that he's slaughtered you before I kill him with my arrows!"

"Stop Namaru!" it was Koshi's voice, strong but desperate, "Put her down!"

The samurai turned his head to sneer at Koshi but didn't stop at all. "You little snot! You think the likes of you can tell me what to do? I'll be damned first!"

Sakana tried to twist in the samurai's arms, tried to see Koshi, but it was impossible. She felt Namaru's arms tighten around her—which was _most_ uncomfortable considering where his arms fell, crushing two rather sensitive parts of her anatomy. Weakly she squeaked and fell mostly limp, both in pain and in embarrassment—her short kimono was riding up for sure and it was likely Koshi, the other samurais, and the villagers could all see her panties…that gave her an idea…

Squeezing her eyes shut against the pain from her flattened breasts, Sakana swung one leg up and then backward, trying to hit Namaru in the crotch…her ankle met with cold steel and iron and she cried out in pain. "Let me GO!"

Koshi suddenly spoke up, though she still couldn't see him, "Let her go Namaru, or I'll shoot you, so help me Buddha!"

Namaru's progress stopped. Apparently Koshi was a decent threat while he was armed… "You little sniveling puke!" she heard him spit and cringed, "You wouldn't dare!"

She thought she could almost hear Koshi's shivering intake of breath, "I _will_ Namaru, for that girl _I will…_"

Namaru laughed, raucously, "Well then we're even, boy, because for _this_ girl I'd take an arrow!" and with that Sakana felt the samurai begin moving again, faster this time. More cries were raised and she struggled to see, but his hold was much too strong.

"Sakana! Sakana!" it was Koshi's voice, drawing nearer, coming for her. She tried to draw a breath to answer but abruptly felt herself freed from Namaru's arms before she could…

She fell to the ground, the palms of her hands scraping along the earth, cutting her. One of her knees caught a rock as well and she cried out with the pain and abruptness of it all. Behind her, as she struggled to get back up to her feet, she heard Koshi screaming her name frantically and Namaru cursing vehemently…she also heard the village's gates scraping steadily closed over the hard, rocky dirt…

"No!" frightened, she jumped to her feet and rushed forward, but the gates were already closed. Futilely she beat her fists onto the gates, tears of fear and pain and frustration building up inside of her, spilling out onto her cheeks. "Let me IN!" she screamed, desperately, but there was no answer, just the cries of the villagers and the samurais…she could hear Namaru and Koshi cursing at each other.

Then one voice rose above the others: "The Red Demon is in the rice fields!"

Sakana whirled around and stared out into the moonlit fields, horrified eyes wide and unblinking. Sure enough, just as the voice had promised, she saw a dark shadow crouched in the wetness of the fields, unmoving. The figure was lean and human-like from what she could tell, although it was kneeling on all fours, balancing on its toes and hands…on its head she saw the things that so clearly marked it as not human—two ears twittered attentively. It was perhaps a hundred feet away and unmoving…would it kill her? Could she run and escape it?

Adrenaline exploded into her system, and, reaching deep inside her for instinct, she turned and began to run. Run for her very life…

Endnote: To one reader who really knew his/her stuff: Sorry I can't remember your name (my AOL is screwy and on the flit, and I've lost you amidst so many other reviews for my new story, the sequel to "So Much For the Hanyou's Happy Ending" which was my greatest hit...(grins)) but if you read this I'm sure you'll know who you are (winks) you told me that you could tell I'd made up the samurai lord's name becuase it was improper...(pouts) Yeah, you're right...but I appreciate the criticism! I'd LOVE (whimpers and pleads with hereyes) to have you send me suggestions for real Japanese last names...I could REALLY use them...I'm always eager to expand my knowledge in every direction, especially lingual stuff. Japanese is so different from the latin based stuff and from English that I've always been fascinated with it...so by all means send me some real names! Correct me! (grins, winks) Well then I shall be going now, I hope you've all enjoyed the latest installment...if you're grinding your teeth about my cliffy...hehehe...well then that means I've done a decent job (BIG grin)...see ya...drop me a line to tell me how I'm doing and whether you like it or not, and suggestions ARE accepted and listened to...I had a reviewer who once gave me a name and I used to just like she suggested...(grins)...Thank you all for reading and sticking with me!


	10. She's Alive

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Inuyasha or Keane's lovely lyrics...

**A/N:** This chapter begins at about the same time as the other chapter. Let's say Sakana/Kagome had the conversation with Koshi (before Namaru tried to feed her to Inu(sniggles)) at about 11:00 at night, just so we have a time. This chapter takes place then at 11:05 or so, while Koshi and Sakana are busily chatting, in the middle of their conversation, but this chapter tells it from Inuyasha's POV (**P**oint **o**f **V**iew) so that that special word, when uttered from Kagome/Sakana's lips, affects Inuyasha...(if I'm speaking gibberish now guys, don't worry, I think it's clear in the text...) but anyway, the rest of the chapter then swiftly speeds up to where I left you guys at a cliffy ((grins) sorry about that, I just HAD to do it) and you get to see the much anticipated MEETING between Inu and Sakana/Kagome...but remember she has amnesia...although she's "drawn" to Inu the rational mind says, "GET OUTTA HERE!" so what would you do in her situation? Hmm? Anyway...as always, drop me a line, I LOVE hearing from you...more on the way, don't worry you won't have to wait long before they meet AGIAN, and next time it WILL be different...(snickers) well, see you, remember to review and tell me how you think it's going...

**

* * *

****She's Alive**

_"When you, when you forget your name_

_When old faces all look the same_

_Meet me in the morning when you wake up_

_Meet me in the morning then you'll wake up…"_

* * *

He was hungry, again. The hanyou had lived most of his life like that: ravenously hungry. As a half demon he craved meat a lot, Kagome's meals of sugar, like the chocolate that Shippo so craved, had always failed to please him. As a youngster he'd likely have loved them too—the faster metabolism of a young youkai like the little kitsune could use the sugars easily and thrive off them—but as a mostly grown hanyou he was powered on a carnivore's diet. The cravings of a youkai were always driven by their respective animal representation. Inuyasha was a dog demon—but he didn't dream of Kibbles 'N Bits… 

The hanyou wandered, after the sun had set, and contemplated the river. It was rather large and fast flowing, and he suspected it rose to about his knees in its deepest regions…it likely had a happy population of minnows and medium sized fish that might just be palatable—for a half dog demon anyway. The humans living along the river probably scoffed at the fish it housed. Why eat such scrawny things when the water itself could provide food in the form of the much more appetizing rice? But Inuyasha wasn't like them—to him the fish were fine, _if_ they were large enough to be worth his time.

After a time, when he'd determined that the roads to and from the village and long the river were empty, the hanyou pressed his way into the shallower edges of the water. It was chilly but he didn't bother acknowledging the shiver that tried to climb up his spine—he was too busy. Plunging his clawed hands into the waters he felt along the bottom…rocks, sand, small smooth stones, and…muck…the muck was what he'd been searching for, minnows probably inhabited the spot, and if there were minnows…

He looked along the length of the river and frowned unhappily. The current was too strong, big fish wouldn't like it. They'd want to hang about in the gentler areas, mingling for sure. And less rocks…they'd want fewer rocks…it just wouldn'tdo a fish any good to be bumped into hard and sharp rocks in a rough current...

_**("Can I talk to you?")**_

Inuyasha trekked back out of the river, his movements furtive and quiet. Once out of the water and onto the bank where the trees offered more shadow and protection from spying eyes, the hanyou shook—much like a dog—freeing his long hair and his limbs of the chilled water.

His stomach tightened uncomfortably, broiling with impatient stomach acids.

Inuyasha pursed his lips. Fish weren't big enough. He'd spend more energy fighting the current and seeking good spots for the fishing to take place than he'd get from actually consuming what the river had to offer. He snorted in the moonlight.

"Feh." _I'd probably get more out of the river muck than from the fish! And it'd be easier to find!_ But he felt sick at the thought of the stuff sliding down his throat, rich, wet, cold, and slimy…like swallowing salamanders…he gagged. Once, as a young pup, newly orphaned after his mother's death, he'd actually resorted to eating such things…and minnows too, he recalled. None of them were very appetizing…

_**("I thought we were talking, Koshi-sama…")**_

Inuyasha rose to his feet and turned back to the forest, leaping into the branches of the nearest tree, agile as a cat, his balance perfect…watching a few of the leaves flicker in the wind beside him he contemplated raiding an orchard. It was the right time of year for a number of nice fruits to be ready…but that was cheap sugars. If he pigged out on those he'd surely destroy the farmer's crops for the year just to fill his stomach for an hour or two at most. The villagers would starve…

"But what do I care?" he growled to himself aloud…yet inside he knew full well that he did care…_damn it!_ When had he become so soft hearted when it came to humans! But he knew the answer to _that_ question too…

His grip tightened on the branch, his claws digging into the bark. He turned sad eyes toward the full and thick moon in the heavens, fighting his emotions as if they were a demon—but it was a battle he could never win, and he couldn't use Tetsuseiga this time…

_**("You've gotta stop calling me that…I'm not your superior in any way!")**_

"Kagome…" he whispered the forbidden name aloud, still staring at the moon. His eyes were moist but he blinked a few times and forced it away. His stomach helped to ease the pain inside by giving him a physical discomfort. Where had he been when _she_ had distracted him? Oh yes, fruit…

No, he couldn't eat fruit. He wasn't concerned for the _people_—no, that wasn't it!—he was worried about the fact that no matter how much of it he _did_ eat he'd be hungry again in only an hour or so. His body assimilated sugar like a sponge did water. There was no point in eating if the meal provided consisted of fruit—he'd be hungry again even as he swallowed the last bite.

He growled, frustrated, and then, curiously, sniffed the air. What were they eating for dinner inside the village? Surely _someone_ must have _something_ good outside cooking…

Carefully maintaining balance, Inuyasha leaned out, trying to catch the wind better in his nose, letting it whisper its secrets to him more clearly. Raiding the samurais' catch had worked out well enough—why wouldn't working the villagers over a bit for their food be just as good? Although he felt a twinge of guilt try to rise within him he pushed the thought down, focusing on the growling and twisting of his hungry stomach instead. There was a _big_ difference between attacking innocent villagers and attacking arrogant warriors…there were women and children, old toothless men and women, babies…

His ears drooped and his stomach growled…_damn it! Who cares about them! They're just humans and I'm hungry! I could do it without killing anyone…_

_**("C'mon,)** _

Inuyasha leapt from the tree, landed smoothly on the ground. Flawlessly he moved straight toward the river, his toes dipped into it, his calves tightened and prepared to leap to cover the rest of the river in a single bound…

_**(sit then…")**_

The rosary beads on his neck suddenly burned into him and Inuyasha winced in surprise. His body had just left the ground; he was over the river's middle, its deepest part…the beads became heavy as stones and the hanyou dropped like a rock toward the water, screeching in shock the whole way.

One gigantic splash later and Inuyasha rose from it, sputtering and furious. He looked around frantically, his ears twittering in every which way, even his nose worked, twitching as he stood, his flesh prickled with goose bumps in the middle of the river. His clawed hands reached up and clasped the beads…

He'd forgotten about them…his anger at the surprise faded swiftly then, even as the water from his plunge into the river continued to drip down his body, wetting his haori. _No one but…_**it couldn't be**…_her…_**no, it just wasn't possible**…_can make the rosary sit me…_**she was dead**. He'd seen her fall…

But no one except Kagome could say that word to make the rosary work…

_The dead couldn't talk._ If Kagome was dead she couldn't have uttered the hated word_…**she's still alive!**_  
The hanyou nearly collapsed at the realization. His knees wobbled, his heart sped up as if he were in mortal combat with his brother or Naraku._ She's alive! She's alive! She's alive!_

The hanyou leapt from the river, instinct driving him now alone. The only thoughts spinning inside him were of Kagome. Where was she? It didn't matter one little bit. He'd find her…now that he knew that she lived and breathedshe couldn't hide from him…he'd held back before, he'd made mistakes, but _no more!_

It was a second chance…

He reached the open; treeless splays where the villagers had their rice fields, and where they crossed the river on their way to the hot springs. Here, on the opposite bank from the village and the rice fields, the hanyou knelt with his nose kissing the dust, searching through the multitude of scents for the one that he thought he'd never scent alive again…over the last few days after he'd followed the samurais with their wounded to this village he'd _thought_ that he'd caught a tiny whiff of the scent from time to time, but always he'd shrugged it off as impossible—only his remaining guilt made him imagine _that_ scent…_her scent…_but now he knew that it'd been real, real as the dust beneath his bare feet, real as the churning hunger in his stomach, and as alive as ferocious current in the river.

A whizzing sound reached him, Inuyasha's ear turned toward the sound, puzzled. A moment later he leapt back ward just as a sharp metal tipped arrow planted itself rudely at his feet. If he hadn't moved it'd surely have driven itself deep into his flesh…with a growl he looked up, squinting his fine-tuned amber eyes across the churning waters of the river and into the village's rice fields. The same samurai archer that'd disturbed him when he'd been near the hot springs was already notching another arrow into his bow, preparing to shoot. Behind him, rising out of the mists, two more samurais were materializing.

Inuyasha's gaze narrowed and he snarled below his breath. "Can't stop me you miserable, arrogant jackasses…" as the samurai let loose with another arrow, the hanyou rushed forward and leapt into the air, catapulting fast, and straight up. On his way he slashed at the arrow that was meant to pierce him through the neck, cutting it into nothing more than slivers of bark and wood and metal. On the bank the three samurai gaped in rising fear as the Red Demon landed on their side of the river, his feet leaving deep imprints in the soft sand. They drew their swords and fidgeted nervously, waiting to see what he would do…

The hanyou growled for a moment, taking in their swords in the moonlight, and then he made a sound almost like a bark and charged toward them, the sand splashing up around his feet much like water. Faced with this snarling, growling, amber-eyed Red Demon the samurais paled and turned tail, running as fast as they could for the gates of the village. Inuyasha chased them for only a few seconds before he skidded to a stop and lowered into a crouching position, on his hands and knees, ears pricked and alert…

When the wind whispered through the grasses and the rice fields _just_ perfectly…he lifted his nose again, searching. His amber eyes faded and closed, as if he were falling asleep but inside his mind was working, searching. A moment later and his golden orbs snapped wide open again, and slowly a grin grew over his face, exposing his bright fangs, as white and shiny as the moon overhead. _Kagome is in the village…_her scent was as clear as daylight when the wind blew, carrying its message to him, whispering in his ears a story of _his_ Kagome, his _living_ Kagome.

He followed the path the samurais had taken a few moments later, cautiously. He tried to be stealthy, rushing through the open spaces that wereexposed to the moonlight. In the shadowy spots he stopped, scenting the wind, and readjusting his course. Finally he found himself in the fields directly outside the village's gates…and somehow they were still open. The samurais must've _really _been stupid! Didn't they know he was a dangerous demon? Well, a dangerous _half_ demon anyway.

Yet even as he thought this he saw—and heard and smelled as well—that the villagers were fighting. There were cries and threats exchanged. Shouts of protest and support. Anger and fear. Hatred and desperation. They were fighting amongst themselves for some strange reason, and that had delayed their reaction time. Inuyasha shook his head, scowling, and was about to rush forward to scale the village gates—whether they were closed or not—when a strange shadow appeared just outside the walls…Inuyasha took a deep breath inward and recognized the same sweaty samurai pest that'd bothered him just outside the hot springs and…._and Kagome?_

Shock rooted him to the spot as the samurai let Kagome fall to the ground and disappeared beck into the shelter of the village's walls, pulling the gates shut violently as he did so. The shouting inside the village increased. Inuyasha scowled in the darkness but didn't move, his amber gaze was riveted on Kagome's fragile form…a longing rose within him at her scent—slightly changed as it was now and surrounded not by him and the others of their group, but by weakly mortals—to run up to her and simply hold her in his arms…

…But the villagers had surely set this up as a trap. They must've been keeping Kagome against her will, and now they were using her to bait him. Inuyasha remained where he was, but he shifted his weight uncertainly, longing to run to her, to reach out, to cry her name and tell her everything that'd been stirring inside him over the last week—when he'd thought she was dead and lost to him forever.

He watched, suddenly frozen, as Kagome rose to her feet, shakily, and turned to pound on the gates of the village. He could hear her frantic voice screaming, "No!". And as her fists met with the wood, terror reached him on the wind, "Let me IN!"

_What's wrong with her?_

Then he stilled everything—even his breathing—when she turned round and stared at him. The hanyou didn't need his above-human eyesight to know that she was anything but glad to see him…her eyes were wide, her face blank and pallid. He could not only see her chest moving rapidly, frantically with her terror, but he could _hear _the breathing and gasping she did. A tremor passed through his heart, _what's wrong with her? Why is she terrified of me?_

Abruptly Kagome turned and ran, tiny sounds of horror, squeaks of fear, escaping her lips and reaching his ears, making his gut wrench with it…_why Kagome? Why would you run from me?_ In a moment his consternation turned to anger and he growled, leaping straight into action, darting after her through the rice fields…

The girl never stood a chance on foot; she was far too slow. Inuyasha landed directly in front of her some five feet ahead, his ears flattened against his head, his amber gaze narrowed. When she caught sight of him in her path she stopped, panting in terror, and began to back away, perhaps to run in the opposite direction again. Inuyasha pursed his lips—he couldn't have that, she'd just tire herself, and by the look of her pale skin, thin body, and the way she smelled, he knew she was already not in the best of health. Considering the fall she must've survived and the ride in the river he wasn't surprised, it was a miracle that she was alive! Perhaps he was dreaming…

But even as he thought that Kagome turned on her heel and started to run again, back the way she'd come. Little gasps of exhausted panic came from her with each exhalation. Inuyasha darted after her doggedly, cutting her off in a single leap.

With a strangled cry of fear Kagome stopped once more, a hand over her heaving chest, eyes wide and glued to him. He scented a change within her, the animal instinct and adrenaline had abandoned her—now she was going to fight him…_fight him?_ Inuyasha blinked at her, stunned, as she raised one hand to him, palm outward, as if it were a weapon.

"Leave me alone!" she gasped, her voice high and frightened.

Inuyasha growled to himself a moment and then showed her his clawed hands, trying to ease her obvious fear, "Kagome, I don't know what's going on but I wouldn't hurt you and you know it." he met her almond gaze, begging her with his eyes to see him, to recognize him, but there wasn't a flicker of any emotion except terror in her expression. She couldn't be tricking him could she? No, Kagome wouldn't do that; she wasn't like that…

"Please Kagome!" he took a step closer to her, hands outstretched, eyes shimmering with emotion, "I thought you were dead! I thought I'd never see you again!" he felt his knees shaking, his hands blurred in his vision, obscured by the moisture in his eyes. He blinked it frantically away to see her face again, and felt something inside him sink towards his feet and the unforgiving earth when he saw it: she was staring at him as if he weren't even speaking the same language! Despair began to flood the hanyou and his fists clenched into balls of frustration and rage.

"Kagome…" he took another step closer and suddenly Kagome backed away from him, both hands outstretched for protection.

"Stay away!" her voice was trembling, he saw the girl turn her head away from him, as if too scared to watch him anymore.

"I won't hurt you Kagome! I could _never_ hurt _you!"_ he was pleading, but his voice, out of frustration and despair, sounded angry and enraged. Surely she wasn't convinced of his peaceful intentions by such a tone, but the hanyou couldn't give up! This was Kagome! _His_ Kagome…

"Kagome, please talk to me, I won't hurt you!" he forced his voice to become calmer, quieter, and he sank down to all fours to appear less threatening. His actions were rewarded when the girl peeked at him a moment and then blinked her frightened tears away. But she didn't adopt a calmer position, and continued to regard him as a killer, her body shook with fear, her scent was rank with it, and her hands never left their position of protection, trying to cover her face and head.

"_Please talk to me…"_ Inuyasha whispered, staring up at her through his shimmering amber gaze.

The girl parted her lips and hesitantly asked something that stupefied the hanyou, "Who is Kagome?"

Even as he gaped at her, disbelieving, a small whizzing sound reached him, but so shocked was the hanyou that he didn't move in time…he yipped in pain and jumped away from Kagome and the village's wall, gasping. His clawed hands grasped an arrow's shaft that'd embedded itself into his thigh. Blackish blood spilled onto the dusty ground, sharp and pungent to the hanyou's nose: his own scent.

He had no time to reflect on this first attack though, for even as he was coming to terms with the first arrow, a second whirring noise hit his ears. The hanyou leap to dodge the sound, moving still further from the village's wall and Kagome, but the arrow struck him nonetheless—right through his right shoulder. Inuyasha grunted and groaned with the pain, cursing the archer's ancestors back to the beginning. With a quick look to the top of the village wall he saw a young man—without samurai armor—steadily pointing an arrow at him, preparing to fire again.

"You bastard!" Inuyasha hissed at him, "Come down and fight me like a man why don't ya!" he flexed and popped his knuckles to emphasize the challenge.

The archer ignored him, instead he called down to Kagome, "Sakana, run to the gates—I'll kill the Red Demon."

The girl had her back to the village's wall and was staring, wide-eyed and confused, at Inuyasha. She didn't seem to hear the orders, and the boy atop the wall looked down at her, worried. "Sakana?"

When the archer looked away from him Inuyasha dashed forward, ignoring the pain and blood loss from the two arrows. But even as he drew close enough to grab hold of Kagome to spirit her away, the archer had targeted him and let loose a third arrow. This one narrowly missed the hanyou's head, but although it missed its mark it worked well in catching his attention.

Inuyasha stopped and looked desperately to Kagome. _I can't leave her!_ But even as he thought that another arrow tore through the air, and then another. The boy on the walls had been joined by not one, but _two_ more archers. Inuyasha would be stricken down if he remained any longer.

"I'll be back for you Kagome!" he yelled, and then leapt high into the air, avoiding the volley of arrows that were aimed at his heart and head, "I _promise!"_ in one burst of speed he shot away, a dart of red, through the rice fields and toward the distant, shining river, like a snake in the dark.

Sakana watched him go; shivering in fear and…what else was it? She could name the strange emotion that rose in her as she watched the demon leap and run away. Something deep within her stirred, whispering to her, _that demon is the key to my past…_

"Sakana!" it was Koshi, calling to her from the village walls in desperation, "Are you all right?"

Slowly she nodded, though that gesture was made more to herself than it was to Koshi who couldn't see it. Her eyes were still following the streak of red…it splashed in the distant river, the silver of the water was like the color of his hair…and then it leapt into the darkness of the trees and was gone. Only then did she answer Koshi.

"Yes, I'm okay." But in her mind she thought, _I need to get away from here. I should follow that demon…_but such a thought was suicide! How could she follow such a creature? And _why_ should she want to? He would only slaughter her or rape her or torture her, or imprison her, right? _You're wrong…_the small voice inside her whispered, but she ignored it. That made no sense at all…but the voice wouldn't relent. Even as she walked back through the gates and felt Koshi hug her, wrapping his arms about her so tightly her breasts hurt, it still whispered to her things that frightened and intrigued at once…

_You don't belong here. You've **never** belonged here. Koshi's arms are not your place. They aren't what you want. They aren't what you are. They never will be. The demon in red holds your future **and** your past…find him…follow him…_

Endnote: Sorry to announce this, but next time it will be a cliffy again too...(smirks guiltely) I'm sorry, they write themsevles most of the time, and the nicest cut offs areusually cliffies...but I'll tell you that it'll be a much more satisfying cliffy than last chapter's. Hehe...that's all for now, I need to be writing now and not posting, I've fallen behind (many apologies!) my schedule will remain VERY busy over the next week or two...into March...by the end of March though I'm good once more...Phews! Gotta go...hope you enjoyed, write in and tell me key? (winks) THANK YOU to all reviewers...I'm not sure how much longer this story will go, I don't think it'll make 20 (did I say that about "Hanyou's Happy Ending" too? (blush)) but anyway, gotta go write on "Hanyou's" Sequel...


	11. Lingering Dreams

**Disclaimer: **Nope

**A/N:** Sorry, this has to be REALLY fast...this story's gotten REALLY good...the chapter called "Maybe She won't Run Away." Is SO good...gosh, you guys are going to DIE...hehehehe...this one's getting wrapped up! (screams!) But I gotta go, can't stop for anything...hint paragraph at the end...

**

* * *

****Lingering Dreams**

_"And I remember, so long ago_

_When I knew you were gone_

_But your love lingered on_

_Through the years_

_I still love you_

_Way down inside…"_

* * *

She woke covered in sweat, her breath coming in pants as if she'd just run the Boston Marathon. _A bad dream_, her mind whispered, _nothing more._ Even so she couldn't purge the images from her mind. Exhaustedly she closed her eyes and rubbed them frantically, trying to scrub the dream from within her…but it was a hopeless thing…they remained nonetheless.

She'd dreamed of the Red Demon that night—which was to be expected. In her mind's eye she could see it _so_ clearly, _so_ richly…the demon in the distance, his red haori bright against his foe's white kimono. Both demons had silver hair and golden eyes, yet the taller of the two lacked dog-ears…somehow she'd known, as dreamers always do, that the two demons were brothers. Yet they fought each other until the taller demon in the white kimono thrust his clawed hand through the Red Demon's belly. She could see the blood in her mind's eye, _smell _it even. She saw him slumped toward the ground, his body fading, failing. And she saw herself, felt herself, crying for him, bitter tears. She'd tried to help him, had shot arrows at his foe—the demon in white. But he was stubborn and he risked himself to save her…them…

But who was them? What did it mean? Was it a dream her mind had fabricated, a vision, or a memory? She couldn't begin to guess.

Wearily she crawled from her futon, careful not to disturb Shisuki who was sleeping peacefully nearby, and crept out of the room. Her bare feet padded over the hard floors of her foster family's home, each slap of her skin made the girl cringe. Finally she slid the door open and walked out into the village.

The sweat still lingering on her body steamed in the cool air and she shivered, suddenly regretting her late night excursion…but when she looked up at the stars her thoughts ceased. Their beauty never failed to steal her breath away. Why? She hadn't a clue—the villagers took such beauty for granted, which bothered Sakana greatly, but she wasn't sure why she would feel so differently about it. Though it wasn't the first thing that had separated her from the villagers, kind and warm-hearted as they'd been to her.

She didn't respect the samurai. She wasn't afraid of protecting herself. She challenged authority. She was attracted to demons that were clear killers—or at the very least rumored to be. At the very least she wasn't scared of them as the rest of the village was. She had the distinct impression that she didn't belong in the village. Everything was wrong…

Cautiously through the darkness Sakana walked toward the stables, pulling her skimpy kimono about her, crossing her arms for warmth. One of the horses in its stall was awake—she could see its eyes gleaming back at her through the gloom. It was an eerie thing to behold, and yet at once it sent waves of exhilaration and excitement and familiarity through her. Why? There were so many unanswered questions she had about herself, and even the world for that matter!

Once she'd been a girl with the answer to everything…now she was hardly a girl without her memories.

Sadly she turned away from the stables and headed in the opposite direction, back toward Mijai's healing hut and the village gates. A few minutes of quiet walking later and she found herself before the gates—not Mijai's hut. The gates had always drawn her. She saw them not as the villagers did—as an ending to the security and safety of home—but as a beginning to where she belonged. She wasn't native to this village. Her home had been _out there_ somewhere, and it was those gates that kept her from searching…

The sound of dirt crunching beneath another's feet made Sakana whirl around, her hand over her heart, near the ever present gems that glowed iridescent purple even in the dark. But as her eyes searched the darkness she sighed with relief, catching a familiar form.

It was Koshi.

"Koshi-sama…"

"Sakana…"

They stared at each other uncertainly for several long moments; until Koshi finally looked away, not brave enough to expose himself too much to her. He shifted on his feet uneasily and then blurted out something that had been bothering him all that night since Namaru had tossed Sakana outside to be eaten by the Red Demon…

"Sakana," he whispered timidly, quietly, "Why didn't that demon kill you? I was so sure that I would arrive too late to save you with my arrows…how did you hold him off?"

Sakana's gaze drifted away aimlessly, unfocused. "I don't think he would've killed me…"

"But that's impossible! The Red Demon killed _five_ samurais! _Five_ of them!" Koshi's hands balled up into fists of rage, "He's a monster! Two of my arrows didn't even stun him! It's to my shame that I didn't shoot one through his damned dirty skull!"

Sakana shook her head; Koshi's words reminded her of her strange dream of the two brothers fighting, the red and the white… "I…I don't know Koshi…"

Koshi chuckled through the blackness, "That's the first time you've forgotten to add 'sama' to my name…"

She looked up at him and suddenly, in her heart, something squeezed. Koshi was so sweet and handsome, like an angel sent to help and to guide her. Like Shisuki he'd become her friend over a very short period of time. She felt surprisingly comfortable with him…but she couldn't trust him. She couldn't love him or treat him the way she sensed that he longed to be treated. He was just like Shisuki and the other villagers—utterly different from her. She didn't belong with him; she didn't belong in the village…she didn't belong _anywhere…_

"What's wrong Sakana?" Koshi's voice tore through her and the girl looked up, cursing herself internally for her stupidity. Her emotions had reached her face and Koshi had managed to see them there and read them. Now what was she supposed to say?

"I…" she sighed, unable to say it to him, unable to understand it herself. Looking quickly away she said, "I'm going to go back to sleep…"

She turned and started to go, but Koshi called out her name, his tone worried. Without looking back at him Sakana answered with a simple. "What is it?"

"Sleep well, Sakana," he swallowed nervously, staring at her back, trying his hardest to avoid looking at the creamy smooth whiteness of her legs that he could see so clearly even in the black of night. "May your dreams be as beautiful as you are."

Sakana closed her eyes, miserably. A tear squeezed out, complete and utter frustration given physical form. "I thank you and I wish you all the same Koshi-sama. I'll see you in the morning." She walked away slowly, her head bowed low in a despair, a guilt she couldn't understand. Why did Koshi's feelings bother her so much?

_Because you can't return them…and you don't even know why!_

She walked back towards Shisuki's family's home, trying to hold back the tears.

* * *

High in the branches of a tree some miles away, Inuyasha was licking his wounds—literally. Without friends or materials to bind his injuries, the hanyou needed to rely on only his natural abilities. Thus, much like a dog, he was licking them clean. Although the arrow wounds were deep and they probably could've killed a mortal, Inuyasha scoffed at them, despite the pain and bleeding they did cause him. In the morning they'd already be scabbed over and halfway healed.

But his mind wasn't dwelling on his wounds. As he cleaned his wounds—which was a little difficult considering their positions—he was beginning to understand why even full inuyoukais liked to travel or battle in clans or with family, mates, or friends—his thoughts revolved around Kagome. He'd seen her, smelled her, heard her voice…she was _alive_! But there was something wrong with her. She acted as if she was one of the peasants in the village, but he knew full well that she wasn't. How could she not know it herself! It made no sense…

Could a mortal's mind be as fragile as their bodies were?

The question captured all of Inuyasha about then and he stopped cleaning the wound on his thigh for a moment, his wild amber eyes shimmering with thought. Humans were frail in body; he could kill any one of them if he so wished. The arrows that'd forced him to leave Kagome with the village that night would've knocked a mortal unconscious from simple shock for sure. Later infection would attack the body, fever would appear, poison would circulate through the blood and finally death would follow. Humans also couldn't regenerate their limbs or their organs like various youkai could. Inuyasha, for one, despite being only half demon, had regenerated injured organs on many occasions. Every time he was stabbed through the gut his body healed whatever had been punctured, although his own reaction and rehabilitation time was longer than that of Sesshomaru's for example, he was still nothing short of a miracle when compared to the likes of Kagome, Sango and Miroku…

But what about human minds? Human souls were powerful, that much he knew. Kikyo had pinned him to a tree for fifty years with nothing but the power of her soul, her spirit. If Kagome hadn't come along to free him he'd _still_ be there! Kikyo's power lied within her soul, not her body…but what of the mind?

What if they have her under a spell? What if she doesn't remember me? What if they've made her think I'd hurt her?

The hanyou felt his ears droop. What if Kagome wouldn't stay with him, wouldn't follow him and stay at his side through thick and through thin, Naraku and the Shards of the Sacred Jewel…he felt his muscles twitch and spasm in little spurts of fear and emotional pain, but he quickly suppressed them and growled roughly into the blackness of the night.

_I'll **make** her remember…I'll **make** her stay…_

With new intensity the hanyou returned to tending his wounds, determined to recover swiftly and face the village and the villagers to recapture the company of the loveliest girl he knew—Kagome.

* * *

The next afternoon a band of girls, including Shisuki and Sakana, wandered away from the village, accompanied by a samurai astride a horse, toward the hot springs. Towels and spare clothes in hand, on any other day they might've begun gossiping and laughing happily, but not this day. The attacks of that last few days had frightened them to the point where mothers brought their husbands or sons with them when they drew water from the river, or a samurai to help guard the springs while they bathed. Normally such a thought was enough to make any girl above the age of ten blush bright crimson, but now that emotion was overrun with the thought of death at the slashing claws of the Red Demon.

Shisuki walked beside Sakana, but the two girls didn't talk much. They were friendly travel companions, but quiet under general circumstances, particularly Sakana. Without the push from the rather enthusiastic, friendly and talkative Shisuki Sakana hardly spoke a word unless the conversation could capture her attention…there was only one that did as they made their way to the springs.

And that was Koshi.

"So…" Shisuki began, quietly, making sure that the samurai, clopping on his horse nearby, couldn't overhear them, "I heard you sneak away late last night…where did you go? Did you go to frolic with Koshi-sama?"

Sakana looked at Shisuki in shock, her eyes big as dinner plates, "Frolic with Koshi-sama?" she repeated like a parrot, "No! Heavens no! There's nothing going on there!" she waved her hand through the air as if the gesture could prove her words.

"I don't believe you, Sakana. I see the way you and he talk…" she smirked meaningfully at the older girl and winked.

"No, Shisuki…" the other girl sighed dejectedly, "I can't feel anything for him…"

This seemed to alarm Shisuki. "You could've fooled me! With all the time you spend with him?" she shook her head, "You know a young man like him doesn't cultivate a friendship with a nice young woman like you idly." Her eyes were serious, strangely dark and bright at the same moment, "No, I'd say he's looking for a life-companion…"

Sakana looked as if she might collapse. She was so stunned that as they walked her foot caught hold of a tangled root. She stumbled and fell with a screech, her face landing hard in the dust. Shisuki, laughing, reached down and helped her up to her feet once more. She might've begun the conversation again but the samurai came to ride beside them, his gaze fierce and unforgiving.

"You foolish girls are trying to make trouble!" he barked, "Anymore talking or laughing and I'll whip the lot of you!"

They finished their journey in silence.

The hot springs were exactly as they'd been before, mere days ago, Sakana realized, when the samurais and Koshi had come to recover from the Red Demon's attack on their traveling company. Sakana watched the trees tensely, her emotions caught somewhere between excitement and fear. It was strange but once again she felt as if something was out there…

Shisuki sighed loudly at her side as she begun to strip her clothes off, first the small tie that kept her short robes closed, then the robe itself. As she undressed she muttered about the samurai escort under her breath.

"Stupid jerk…" Sakana smiled at her friend's annoyance, and Shisuki saw the expression, for her next words were louder and braver, "'I'll whip the lot of you!' he's just upset because he doesn't get to watch us naked, even though he _thinks_ he's so perfect and powerful…" she snorted in disgust, "…as if any woman would want _him…_"

The samurai they spoke of was around the bend in the path, still on his horse, or so the girls and women hoped. If he abandoned his post and snuck through the forest to avoid the bending path he could get a view of them all bathing…which was what they suspected he'd do. And, because they'd all moved to bathe at the same time it seemed that the samurai might be able to get away with it: if he left his post watching for the Red Demon they'd never know it—they'd be too busy bathing.

While Shisuki continued to fume a little, Sakana listened and smiled absently—but she didn't take her clothes off…there was _something_ wrong. Something deep inside her whispered that she had only to wait and things would be revealed to her—and she wouldn't want to face them naked!

"Aren't you going to bathe with the rest of us, Sakana?" Shisuki's voice queried as the younger girl stepped into the steamy water after the rest of their peers.

Slowly Sakana shook her head, "No, I think I'm going to go and stand watch with the samurai for a while—you know, to make sure he's doing his job…"

Shisuki grinned, but in her eyes there was a more truthful, harder expression too—both girls knew how true Sakana's words likely were, and all the women would be happy to have Sakana stand guard over their dignity. Any one of them would've wanted to do the same to protect the group, but none dared. None of them had the guts to show such open suspicion to the samurai.

"Thank you Sakana…"

"Don't mention it at all 'Suki."

She turned and walked toward the bend in the path, her gaze directed at the ground, trying to guide her feet around the pebbles and rough spots in the trail. But she never made it as far as the samurai…

Just as she reached the bend in the path there was a sound in the trees above her and Sakana's heart instantly picked up, beating like a frightened mouse's. _The Red Demon…_

A dark shape fell around her, enveloping her. The movement was so swift and sudden that she had no time to struggle against it, and only perceived the bright crimson of the Red Demon's robes as he scooped her into his arms and leapt straight up again, back into the branches of the trees above from whence he came. The only sound of distress Sakana could muster was a muted, "Help!" before the air was rushing past her legs, the demon's strong arms were about her, and all she knew of the world was the bright red of his robes.

"Stop! Beast!" arrows whizzed through the air, shot by the samurai, who was, as it turned out, doing his job. But he was a poor shot, much like Namaru. Every arrow missed and most never even came close. The Red Demon leapt away, his precious cargo carried in his arms.

The bathing women screamed as they saw and heard the arrows flying, and watched the red streak of the beast fly away, the green of Sakana's skimpy kimono still visible in his arms…

Endnote: Here goes:

_"But without…" Sango closed her eyes, suddenly fighting a terrible lump in her throat that was both hot and cold at once, "…Kagome…Inuyasha will never listen to us…we can't make him sit…if he's really that crazy…" _

_Miroku's gaze on hers was stern and fierce, resigned to their shared fate, "If he's that crazy, Sango, you're right…we'll have to kill him."_

There you go...hehehe...exciting...till later...I must go eat dinner, my mom's going to kill me if I'm here any longer...LOVE YOU GUYS! THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! Drop me a line...Thanks...


	12. Without Kagome

**Disc.: **I only WISH I could own Inuyasha, the same goes for all the lyrics I use, although there will be a chapter or two when I use my very OWN poems at the beginning, and those I WILL own! (YAYS!)

**A/N:** Okay, very busy, laundry is waiting for me to finishe this...gotta do another load after this one too...I'm gone pretty much all night tomorrow at my miserable high school...my heel hurts for no reason...(dies)...okay, I apologize, I corrected errors only passing in this one b/c I'm in a huge hurry...I hate not being obnoxiously perfect, but it's either sloppy or you guys don't get these updates...and I don't get to smile when I hear from you! (cries at the thought) well I hope you all love this chapter...remember that NEXT chapter is REALLY cool, I LOVED writing it...someone suggested that I have some more fluff in this story...and guess what...they got their wish...(see I really DO listen!) the next chapter is pretty much ALL fluff I tell you! Here is your preview b/c I LOVE the next chapter SO much:

_Her warm, soft skin was only centimeters away, the slightest movement, the slightest waver in his muscles, intentional or otherwise, and Inuyasha's flesh would meet hers. And her scent! It seemed to affect him the way that the smell of Ramen did when he was hungry—he swallowed nervously—there was too much spit in his mouth!_

_Get away from her! _

_It was warm and sweet, and her skin glowed like honey. He wanted to run his lips over her cheeks, to taste her skin, not just feel it against his own._

_**You must wait! **_

_But he couldn't._

There it is guys...basically he's fighting with himself while she's asleep...hehehe...enjoy!

**

* * *

**

**Without Kagome…**

"_Lovesick, bitter and hardened heart_

_Aching, waiting for life to start_

_Meet me in the morning when you wake up_

_Meet me in the morning then you'll wake up…"_

* * *

"I sense an ominous cloud overhead. There are evil spirits hovering about your village dear sir, but lucky for you, I am the famous traveling monk Miroku. For a free meal and a place to stay tonight for me and my companions, I will gladly exorcize any evil spirits or demons from your area." The monk bowed slowly before the wizened and clearly displeased old man, completing his show of false grandeur.

Behind him, Sango was frowning lightly. Miroku's act was weak and obviously false today, at least to her eyes. There'd been many other days when she'd seen him sweep tavern owners and rice field workers right off their feet until they were _begging_ him and his friends to stay over night. The monk _could_ be charming if he was in just the right mood…but clearly now was not one of those times, everything Miroku said was forced, strained. Surely the man could tell…

The man Miroku was speaking to simply blinked for a moment and then bit his lip, and his eyes blazed angrily. "You stupid monk! _Of course_ there's an ominous cloud over our blasted village! It's been going on ever since that boy Toka and his sister pulled that skinny water sprite from the river…" he sighed and shook his head, "We should've let her die then…we've done nothing but suffer since."

"Really, sir?" Miroku took a step backward to stand beside Sango, a huge and almost sick friendly smile blooming over his lips. Sango could only roll her eyes as Miroku grabbed her and pushed her forward to introduce her, he was _such_ a bad actor… "My friends and I can be of _great_ help to you! We specialize in anything unusual…have you ever heard the name Sango of the Demon Slayer's village?"

The man frowned, "No…" but he was a little more interested now, and at least he was listening…or maybe he was too busy admiring Sango's womanly figure beneath her pink and green skirts. With Miroku's hands on her shoulders and the old man's eyes taking in _all_ of her form, Sango suddenly felt queasy.

"Well, Sango is simply the best Demon Slayer around!" Miroku went on, trying to sell her as if she were a sutra or protective spell and not a person at all, "If there's anything troubling you here sir, we can take care of it for you in mere minutes and save you years of suffering!"

"I just told you that there _is_ trouble here, stupid monk!" The wrinkled, crotchety old man scowled again, then spat into the air. Sango and Miroku cringed as the spittle came flying back toward them in the breeze. "If you want to stay here the night no one's going to stop you!" he snorted, "But good luck trying to get rid of our problems! The girl from the river cursed our village with unhappiness! After she came the samurais arrived with their wounded men and bullied us, and following them was the Red Demon! Now it's all we can do to make it through the day!"

Miroku stepped forward again, the rings on his staff jingling. "What is this you say about a red demon?" the bad acting was over now and the monk was genuinely intrigued.

"Yes I did young monk. And if you stay the night here you'll likely get just about your fill of that demon I should say. Then you'll be glad you can move on come sunrise tomorrow!" the man chuckled bitterly as his gaze slid over to Sango, examining her form once again…and then he saw Shippo and Kilala at her feet.

The man's eyes widened in what might have been surprise. "Demon exterminators that travel with demons?" a snarl grew over his face, "What kind of trick are you trying to pull!"

Miroku started to speak but his voice was a stutter and the man's face was quickly becoming a livid red with his outrage, so Sango came to the rescue. Stepping forward and nudging Miroku aside she bowed slightly before the man and began to explain, "The monk and I have these two demons as helpers. They are friendly demons; they only serve as our helpers. They are the reason we are so successful at exorcizing evil spirits and slaying demons."

The man was listening but his eyes were narrowed with suspicion. "There's no such thing as a friendly demon, woman…"

"I'm afraid there is, sir." She turned slightly and called Kilala's name. The little cat demon leapt into Sango's arms and remained there as her human master stroked her fur. Kilala began to purr contentedly. She was like any normal cat or kitten with the exception of her two tails.

"What about the kitsune? You can't fool me, those things make trouble everywhere they go!"

Shippo crossed his arms and frowned up at the old man, annoyed. "That's a myth." He huffed.

"I assure you sir, Shippo's only trouble when there's food about!" Miroku bowed to the villager, trying to appease him, "He's only dangerous to bowls of rice and plates of fish."

"Hey! Miroku! I'm dangerous! I've killed plenty of demons before!" but Shippo's incessant whining proved Miroku and Sango's words true to the old man, whose face began to soften as he watched the kitsune pleading with the adults for attention and recognition.

Slowly he sighed, "Like I said, no one's going to stop you four from staying in the village—well at least none of the villagers will anyway…"

"You said there were samurais staying here?" Miroku asked, his gaze pinned on the old man sternly now, at his feet Shippo had ceased complaining and was listening attentively.

"Yes, they were attacked by the Red Demon, it injured and killed a few of their men…they sent the wounded here and brought their curse with them."

"The Red Demon you say?" Miroku asked, his fingers traveled to his chin thoughtfully, "Tell us what you know about this demon, perhaps we can slay it. What kind of demon is it?"

the old man shook his head, "Not even the samurais are a match for it. You'd all die for sure…"

Miroku shook his head, "We'll see, sir, but please, can you tell me anything about this demon? Does it have a name? What kind of demon is it? What does it look like?"

The old man sighed and shook his head. "No name that we know of, really. The samurais called it the Red Demon because it's dressed in red robes."

"Red robes?" the monk and the demon slayer asked at the same time, blinking. Both thought the same thing of the old man's demon: _Could it be Inuyasha?_

"Yeah, damn the stupid thing to hell…" the old man huffed for a moment, fuming, and then looked up and past the strangers before him. "I must go to the rice fields, I've been chatting the day away. There's work to be done if the village is to survive winter…" he stepped forward abruptly, pushing Miroku and Sango aside brusquely.

"Please, sir…" Sango tried to call him back, but stopped when Miroku's voice rose above hers.

"I think we've heard enough Sango."

She looked to the monk, her chocolate colored eyes concerned, "Are you sure, Miroku? Do you think that this village is being attacked by—"

"Inuyasha?" the monk looked away from her pursing his lips, "I think it's worth staying here to investigate."

Shippo jumped to Miroku's shoulder and crouched there, frowning. "I think it's Inuyasha too."

"Really Shippo?" Sango asked, her gaze sad and fatigued at the thought of facing a rabid Inuyasha, "I'm going to hope that we're wrong…I mean red _is_ a common color…"

"Yes," Miroku nodded, "You're right. And Inuyasha is well known. If these people don't know this demon's name…" he shook his head, pursing his lips, "And we never got a description of the demon, just the color of its robes."

"It doesn't matter Miroku." Shippo sighed on his shoulder, closing his green eyes in something close to despair. The monk and the demon slayer exchanged worried glances with one another and then looked to Shippo concernedly.

"What's wrong, Shippo?" Sango asked gently.

"I know it's Inuyasha."

"But how?"

"His scent is all along the river." The kitsune whispered.

The group grimly pressed onward, silence the only answer to Shippo's words. None of them doubted the nose of a youkai—to do so would simply have been denial.

They followed the path up the river, watching as nervous women moved about the river's edge, trying to wash their dirty laundry or drawing water for cooking. Each woman glanced at the group with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Yet not one approached them, which was unusual. In any other village the younger women would've likely gone to greet Sango and Miroku, and immediately after the monk would inquire as to whether or not they'd be interested in bearing his children. But none of that happened here. The women folk were too harried and worried to bother with pleasantries with the new arrivals. Plus it didn't help Miroku and Sango to have two youkai with them, small as they were.

Just ahead the rice fields opened up, splayed before the group directly in front of the village's gates. At those gates Sango noted two samurais in full regalia standing guard. They were so still that had they not been in full Technicolor Sango would've thought they were statues. But just as they came within speaking distance those "stone" samurais turned their heads and took in the newcomers…their faces clouded immediately with distrust and suspicion.

"Stop!" the nearest to them commanded, they obeyed wordlessly, "Who are you, what is your business here?" he demanded.

"I am Miroku, the traveling monk. This is Sango, the demon slayer." He gestured next to Shippo, who was still on his shoulder, "This is—"

"A demon!" the samurai snarled, and he drew his sword, the metal grinding against the sheath as it slid out, showering the dirt in front of the warrior with sparks, "Be gone or I'll kill you all!"

"But good sir," Miroku bowed and forced a pleasant, innocent smile on his face, "We've heard that there is a demon in these parts that troubles you. As it turns out we can take care of such a problem! The lovely Sango at my side is an excellent demon slayer, while I can exorcize spirits as well as troublesome demons. We have come to offer our services for—"

"No one will pay you here!"

"We're not asking to be paid." Sango supplied immediately, "Just a meal and a place to stay."

The samurai hesitated, apparently interested in the chance at ridding his peers and the villagers of the Red Demon. Slowly he sheathed his sword after glancing at his partner, who nodded his agreement.

"Very well. There _is_ a demon that troubles us…" the samurai growled, irritably, "It took two arrows last night from one of our archers—that didn't even slow the thing down."

Miroku nodded, "Yes that sounds like him…"

"What?" growled the samurai, suspiciously.

"Oh, sir, you see—" but Miroku was never able to finish his explanation, for it was then that many screams cut through the air, catching all of them by surprise. The sounds came from across the river in the distance beyond the rice fields. The group turned to look that way, spellbound, and the samurais rushed forward, drawing their swords. They passed Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala in a rush, screaming their defiance at whatever was coming.

Miroku glanced to Sango, his eyebrow raised, "Should we investigate?"

Sango sighed only in answer, but Shippo, on her shoulder now, shrugged, "Sure, we might as well get it over with…"

"But without…" Sango closed her eyes, suddenly fighting a terrible lump in her throat that was both hot and cold at once, "…Kagome…Inuyasha will never listen to us…we can't make him sit…if he's really that crazy…"

Miroku's gaze on hers was stern and fierce, resigned to their shared fate, "If he's that crazy, Sango, you're right…we'll have to kill him."

Shippo was shaking on Sango's shoulder, "Miroku…"

But Sango was nodding in agreement, "Shippo, he's right. If Inuyasha's insane with grief…Kagome told me once…" she choked slightly on the words, remembering the girl, so sweet and innocent that she was the perfect tranquilizer, the perfect collar for the wild inuhanyou… "That Inuyasha, when she first met him, was going to kill her for the Sacred Jewel. It was only the rosary beads that Kaede put on him that saved her. Without Kagome…" Sango bit back her words and her tears, stopping her sentence there, but Miroku finished it for her nonetheless, his eyes were stony and cold. He'd distanced himself from the subject emotionally.

"Without Kagome Inuyasha is a selfish, wild beast." He nodded and his eyes slid to Shippo, "If he's terrorizing these people for amusement then I'm afraid the hanyou we knew is as good as dead…" he closed his eyes a moment as the rest of that sentence finished itself in his mind, too painful to be voiced aloud though every one of them, even Kilala who mewed mournfully in Sango's arms, thought it together: _Dead like Kagome._

A horse's hooves beat the ground then, drawing their attention away from the dark not too distant past. Just crossing the river was a samurai on horseback, his face pallid, his expression drawn and taut. Miroku dashed into the horse's path and cried out, "Sir! Sir! Please! Please slow and tell me what's transpired across the river there…"

The samurai's horse reared about five feet shy of Miroku, neighing frantically. The beast's wyes were wile with fright, its breathing rough. The samurai atop its back wasn't much better off.

"The demon…the Red Demon…" he huffed and panted, his eyes as wide as they possibly could be, "It came…it came from the trees, swooped down…"

Behind the frightened samurai a gaggle (A/N: I couldn't resist using that word! Sorry!) of women were running, their eyes wide with terror, some of them were crying…and all of them were scantily clad—many of them had wet hair and only towels to cover themselves.

Sango felt a twinge of heat creep into her cheeks as she noticed that Miroku's eyes were no longer on the samurai but were focused on the bountiful pale flesh of the women.

"You hentai…" she muttered and crossed her arms angrily, looking away.

The frightened women dashed by the samurai, heading straight for the safety of the village. But as one slipped by, wearing a short blue kimono with small white flowers embroidered over it, the samurai reached out and stopped her. The girl was no older than fourteen with dark brown eyes and straight black hair that was dry, unlike a lot of the other women's. She looked up at the samurai with confused, terrified eyes…and she was crying. The tears were racing down her cheeks like rain from heaven.

"You," the samurai panted, "You were with the girl that was taken by the demon…"

Miroku and Sango and Shippo all blinked in surprise at this. "The Red Demon took a girl?" Miroku demanded, frowning in disbelief. Had Inuyasha become a hentai in his wild state?

"Do you question me!" the samurai yelled, outraged, "I saw him swoop down and steal her away with my own eyes! This girl was the victim's friend…"

The girl looked to Miroku and Sango and Shippo, shivering in fear and grief. "He's right. The demon came and took Sakana away…" the tears started to fall from her eyes again, skidding down her cheeks, dribbling from her chin.

"The women were bathing. I escorted them and guarded." The samurai barked, his breath recovered now, "They'd been attacked there once before…" he stopped and looked over the monk, the demon slayer, the kitsune and Kilala, confusedly, "Who in the seven hells are you?"

"Exterminators." Miroku bowed politely, "We came here to rid you of the Red Demon." The words were so cold, his tone so dead, that even the samurai shivered and warily frowned, uncertain.

"Well I'll pray for you or something." He muttered, then he prodded his horse and breezed by Miroku for the gates of the village. In his wake he left the frightened young girl, shivering and crying still.

Sango enveloped the younger girl in a hug and tried to wipe her tears away, "It's okay, we've come to slay the demon…" she bit her lips at the last half of the sentence and looked away, making sure to miss the expression of relief that passed over the youth's face.

"Oh thank you!" she shivered and started to cry anew, "The beast took my friend…poor Sakana…"

"Sakana?" Miroku asked, frowning, "That's an unusual name for someone…" _why would Inuyasha steal a girl named Fish?_

"It's not her real name, sir." The girl seemed to deflate, to sag with exhaustion brought on by her terror and grief, "My brother and I pulled her from the river half-alive. We thought that she'd die for sure, but she recovered amazingly. I thought she was a miracle from heaven…but you see Sakana doesn't remember anything about her past life. She only remembers waking up on the banks of the river and being healed by our healer Mijai…so we called her Sakana because we pulled her from the river like she was a fish…"

Sango felt a twinge of confusion pass through her, as if the girl's story meant something…but she shrugged the thought off, even though she noted that Miroku apparently thought something similar, for he gave her a quick glance, as if checking up on something with her. But when he saw her blank expression he turned back to the girl, cleared his throat and asked, "Can you take us to where the Red Demon was when he took this other girl, this Sakana?"

The girl started to shake with fear, "Please sir…I don't want to die!" she started to sob and fell against Miroku's robes. Awkwardly Miroku patted her; his face burned bright red as he smiled sheepishly at Sango, who was carefully watching the monk's lecherous hands for "slips."

"Can you at least tell us where to look?" Sango asked.

The girl withdrew from Miroku and nodded slowly, "Follow the path across the river to the hot springs. The demon took Sakana there…" she sniffled mournfully and then looked to Miroku and Sango, her dark brown eyes suddenly hard and full of hatred. _"Kill it,_" she whispered, "_"Kill the evil demon…_"

As the girl started to sob again Miroku, Sango and Shippo all exchanged glances of fear and regret.

_Could they kill Inuyasha?_

* * *

The world flew by, green and brown tree branches, the flash and flicker of the bright blue sky above. It was afternoon at the village, women were washing their clothes, drawing water, cooking, cleaning…but she'd never see any of that again…red robes smothered her sight again, she was smashed against the demon's back, he'd thrown her body like a sack of rice over his shoulder and was leaping away through the trees…nothing looked familiar to her, it was all wilderness. She'd never be able to escape and find help out here. The demon could kill her at any time easily and devour her at his leisure.

Or he could do worse than kill and eat her…

Sakana felt suddenly sick.

Feebly she tried to beat on his back, tried to make her throat produce words for her but nothing came. Finally tears began to fall, careening from her eyes and face as the wind swept by her while the demon leapt and ran.

_I'm going to die…_

Endnote: Gotta be fast again...AOL doesn't work on my machine at all now...and my computer's become ridiculously slow, I'm sorry, VERY sorry...leave me some notes guys and gals anyway though, I can check them here on has some fans ask me to read their work...when I have more time in my schedule, yes, I'd be glad to...but right now my laundry is waiting for me, "With Our Arms Wide Open" is staring me in the face, so is "Somebody's Waiting For Me." They all need to be written...and at the same time I shouldn't be writing fanfiction at all, I need to write something original for scholarships...(sighs miserably) but this is FUNNER! Anyway...leave me a note, I'll check, I promise, I DO get them, so if you have an important question or suggestion I AM listening...and when I have more time I'd LOVE to read your work...just keep reminding me so I don't forget...thanks! bye!


	13. Maybe She Won't Run Away

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Inuyasha. I also do not own Michelle Branch's lyrics...

A/N: Okay, if you notice anything weird or something it's becuase my dad, as promised, yesterday performed long and tiring and intense brain surgery on this computer (which happens to be mine (grins)) as a result things are quite different but significantly faster! He installed a new hardrive (I got to see the computer's GUTS!) and then had to get it hooked to the Internet again (that nearly killed him...I swear, he has to dominate the machine with some under-his-breath cursing to break the computer's will, and then, and ONLY then can he fix the darn thing and make it run right...so, becuase he succeeded you and I both know that he has whooped this machine's butt!) Anyway, so I now have AOL and Internet Explorer running at the SAME time! I can look at reviews now while writing these! We're back in business! (CHEERS!) Anyway, that was why I haven't updated in something like a week...I'm sorry, the bloody thing was so slow, and I was so blue (cold, too much play practice and homework that sort of thing) that I could only dream of updating my posts...but NOW we're back in business! Anyway...This is the long awaited mushy chapter! I think you're all going to LOVE it, I know I LOVED writing it! (YAYS!) okay, gotta go to the endnote now: enjoy!

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**Maybe She Won't Run Away**

"_You give me something to sleep to_

_And all I know is_

_You give me something to dream to when_

_I'm all alone and blue_

_Don't leave me now_

_Don't leave me now…"_

* * *

Inuyasha stopped about an hour's romp away from the hot springs, his breathing hardly even rough after the journey. They were in a beautiful meadow on the edge of the river. But now the river was the same that'd stolen Kagome from Inuyasha at the cliff where she'd fallen…come _so_ close to dying…the river near the village was a different fork of that river, but Inuyasha had run so far upstream that he'd come to the place where the rivers were still one river. 

He could smell the richness of the river's waters. The fish had to be large here—the water was so deep and rich that current or no it had to be a good place for them to be…

And the meadow? It was gorgeous. The trees circled it thickly, but the branches never came to cover the sunlight from above, instead when a few scant leaves caught the light they seemed to fluoresce bright green. The color was enormously beautiful, it reminded the hanyou of Kagome's strange school uniform—which she wasn't wearing now, although the skimpy green kimono _was_ similar, although the color of it was darker.

Gently Inuyasha set the girl down into the lush grass of the meadow, making sure that she was in the sunlight so that her legs would be warm. He was surprised to see that she was asleep—or rather, unconscious. Worriedly he placed a hand in front of her mouth and waited until he could feel the warm, moist wind of her exhalations on his palm. With his acute hearing he could just about _feel_ her heart beating through his toes, and it was normal.

Her back hair was wild around her in the bright green grass, contrasting sharply. There was a crease between her eyebrows. The girl's sleep was not a pleasant one. Tensely, Inuyasha sank to his knees at her side and stared at her silently for a long, long time.

She was almost dead…I can scent it on her. She almost died recently. Her body is still weak…

It was only then that he remembered his own body's weakened state. The night before his hunger had been completely forgotten on his quest to find Kagome. After that he'd been too busy attending his wounds to find any food. That very morning he'd hardly had the brain power or the patience to raid a few vegetable gardens, and swallow a little of the cold, slimy, and utterly disgusting river sludge. He still felt queasy after _that_ meal.

He could _really_ use some meat!

…And so could Kagome!

Inuyasha turned and leapt toward the river, crouching cautiously at its edge. He wasn't sure how deep the bloody thing was but he knew it was deeper than his knees. Likely it was deeper than he was tall…the hanyou didn't feel like getting soaked. If Kagome woke up and saw him dripping wet she'd never hug him…that and he'd smell like a wet dog for sure!

So Inuyasha improvised a fishing line. With a little scouting he found a relatively straight branch. Then he tanked a few of his own silver hairs and wove them together to make sure that they were strong like wire or string. The next part was the easiest for him: digging along the moist riverbank the hanyou found a worm and poked a hole through its middle with his pinky claw. After that he tied the earthworm with the fishing line made of his own hair. When everything was secure he placed the impromptu fishing pole between two rocks and let the wriggling worm on the end of the line dangle in the current.

Then he waited…

Fifteen minutes of crouching on the rocks later Inuyasha spotted a large fish creeping towards his worm. The hanyou leaned over the water slowly and waited, his muscles taut and ready to spring, his clawed hands poised over the surface of the water…

The big fish dashed in and grabbed hold of the worm…without a hook to catch on its gills the fish only struggled briefly with the caught worm before it was free again—but that pause was long enough…

Inuyasha snatched the fish out of the water and dug his claws into its gills for a firm grip—then he leapt to shore, the fish still wriggling. Ironically its struggles were not unlike the earthworm's.

In the meadow Inuyasha checked on Kagome who was still sleeping peacefully in the sunlight. Not knowing when she'd wake up, Inuyasha hurriedly set a fire up and, after gutting the fish using only his own claws, he began roasting it. When it was finished Inuyasha ate three fourths of it and then set aside the last piece, on the off chance that Kagome might want to eat it.

She still wasn't awake.

The hanyou crept close to her, sighing as he noted that the sun was setting above, the evening shadows were growing longer and larger. In the dying light Kagome's skin seemed to glow…her scent was sweet like blooming flowers in the breeze…Inuyasha squirmed embarrassedly when he felt the impulse to _lick_ her legs…they looked as if they were made of honey!

Nervously his amber eyes flicked to her face, searching for any sign that she might be awake…he saw none. Carefully he paused and listened. Her breathing was normal and steady. Her heartbeat was also slow and relaxed and even. He closed his eyes and let those observations comfort him: his Kagome was _alive!_ She wasn't dead! She'd never really been dead! He had her now, safe and alive, and he'd _never_ let her go!

The amber orbs snapped open then and were immediately drawn to the golden glow of the flesh on her neck, arms and legs…he swallowed nervously and his face burned crimson…but she was asleep and there was no harm in looking, right?

Slowly he extended one hand out to her face. His fingertips gently grazed her cheek. He withdrew suddenly as if he'd been caught doing something shameful, or as if her skin had shocked him. _So smooth…_

He swallowed the strange lump in his throat again, but it was futile…and like an addict he reached toward her again. This time his fingertips and talons traced her lips and chin. He pulled his hand away and closed his eyes, holding her face in his mind's eye and he sighed sadly. _I almost lost her…I can't stand to sit around here waiting for her to wake up, I want to talk to her **now**…_

Frustrated, the hanyou brought the same fingers that'd touched her lips to his own, tracing their shape anxiously. _Almost like kissing her…_but that was a lie…he knew full well that the flesh grazing his lips was his own and not Kagome's. He stopped and stared at her again, his golden eyes tense. Inside his longing for her increased tenfold with each passing second—her skin looked like honey, he could hear her body working, keeping itself alive, smell her warm, lovely, sweet scent, the lingering sensation of her soft skin against his fingertips—and with each of those seconds he fought himself internally.

You will wait.

_But I almost lost her…_ _You will wait!_ _I just want to hold her in my arms, feel her warm skin…_ _No!_

He paused, blinking in confusion, as if he'd been asleep himself. His hand was extended toward her face again, the fingers reaching for her lips…but that wasn't what he wanted…

_No!_

He moved forward, closer to her. The silver hair spilled over his shoulders as he moved, falling to tickle the girl's arms and face.

_Stop!_

The hanyou placed one palm on the other side of her neck in the grass, to support him as he leaned down to scent her skin and exhalations close up. His nose was right above her lips.

_Stop **now!**_

Her warm, soft skin was only centimeters away, the slightest movement, the slightest waver in his muscles, intentional or otherwise, and Inuyasha's flesh would meet hers. And her scent! It seemed to affect him the way that the smell of Ramen did when he was hungry—he swallowed nervously—there was too much spit in his mouth!

_Get away from her!_

It was warm and sweet, and her skin glowed like honey. He wanted to run his lips over her cheeks, to _taste_ her skin, not just feel it against his own.

_You **must** wait!_

But he couldn't. He'd come too close to losing her forever. If he hadn't followed the samurais to the village, hadn't been near enough for her words to use the rosary beads—how he _loved_ those beads now!—he'd never have known that she was alive and living in the village…

Living in the village… 

He stopped, hovering above her face, his thoughts spinning. _That's right…there's something wrong with her. She thinks she's one of the villagers…_he blinked and looked back down at her face.

The sun was setting; the glow of her skin was beginning to diminish. Kagome was still beautiful, but now it was in a darker, more mysterious way. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids, restlessly. Fear that she'd awaken made the hanyou's body stiff, ready for flight. But as he paused and listened there was nothing strange about her body's rhythms. Her heartbeat was steady and slow, her breathing deep and even. She was asleep still; everything would be all right.

But when his eyes caught sight of her lips again and the black tangles of her hair, he felt a place in his chest tighten. _I almost lost you Kagome…and I never told you how much I…_

He closed his eyes and lowered his lips closer to her face another fraction of an inch. Her scent was intoxicating this close, a terrible tease. He imagined the warmth of her beautiful arms wrapped around his neck, the brilliant white of her smile, the light in her eyes when she laughed.

_And I almost never got to tell you…almost never got to tell you how much…_

"…I love you Kagome." His muscles shook, quivering, and the hanyou sighed, releasing a long, long breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "I've loved you for so long. I wanted to die when you fell…" his eyes stung but Inuyasha forced the tears away and opened them, just in time to see Kagome move her head slightly, turning so that their lips were in line with one another, it was like she was _asking_ him to kiss her…but Inuyasha pulled back from her, biting his lips to hold back the terrible burning emotion inside him.

Leave her alone. Let her sleep…she's just sleeping, that's all.

He nodded obediently to himself and started to push himself up and away from her completely when he heard Kagome moan. Fear seized his muscles and he remained where he was frozen in place…a second passed, two…and then he saw her lips move once, twice…and she _whispered _his name.

"Inuyasha."

Before he knew what he was doing Inuyasha had lowered his lips to her cheek, brushing them along her skin. The warmth that radiated from her was like a drug—he wanted more. The hanyou skimmed her flesh gently, breathing her in, tasting her with his acute sense of smell. He reached her lips and hesitated a moment, opening his eyes to look at hers…she was asleep.

_Stop you fool! Baka!_

_I can't, I just **can't**_.

Inuyasha kissed the corner of her lips gently—and to his surprise she moved beneath him, turning slightly so that his lips were directly on hers now. He felt her whispering something almost inaudibly, her lips moving difficultly on his.

"_Inuyasha…"_

His heart was hammering inside his ribs, he was sure it'd burst. _She's dreaming about me…she **does** remember me!_

The hanyou moved with instinct now, his desire at the edge of consuming all of his coherent thought. He kissed her, a little harder than before, and one clawed hand came to her neck, warm, smooth and inviting. He caressed her cheek and neck softly, innately knowing where the right spots were that would pleasure her, where the nerves would send her brain messages of bliss…

It was a mistake.

Deep within its dreams of purple gem shards, fox demons, demon slayers, lecherous monks, and red robed hanyous, Kagome felt a chill pass through her body. The red robed hanyou that was sitting beside her in her dream, chatting with her and keeping her company, suddenly faded.

Kagome's mind snapped awake, her eyes popped open, warm brown orbs hazy and confused with the heaviness of her sleep…and then she felt the heat of another's lips on her own, the moisture of his mouth, the musky, masculine scent of the forest and, distantly…_fish_. His silver hair was tickling her arms, and his dog-ears were just barely in her line of vision, at the very top of his head. The red robes had blocked her view of the sun and the sky and the trees above…

_Red robes…_Red Demon.

And then she was Sakana and not the deeper, secluded Kagome. She was the girl that had been rescued by Shisuki and Toka again, the girl that was terrified by demons just as all the other mortals were.

She opened her mouth and screamed in horror.

Inuyasha jumped away from her, his heart racing, his ears ringing, his stomach abruptly squeezed and wrenching as if he might be sick.

_You stupid, stupid half-breed!_

He watched in shock as Kagome jumped up, her usually happy brown eyes wide and terrified. "Stay the _hell_ away from me you monster!" she screamed, making him cringe. Something inside him hurt again, something somewhere in a place that wasn't stomach or chest—a thing that mortals called the heart. Had he ruined his chance to keep her with him forever?

Kagome stood up weakly and started to step away from him, shaking with fear. The emotion rolled off her in waves, assaulting his nose. The hanyou gripped the earth with his claws, tearing the soft green grass, stifling it. _Not again, I won't let you leave Kagome; I almost lost you once…_

"Kagome! _Please!_ Wait!"

"My name isn't Kagome!" the girl shot back at him, still trying to back away from him…but Inuyasha saw that she was about to step into the ashes of the fire he'd made to cook the fish…he sprung forward just as she started to stumble, her eyes widening in shock, and caught her safely in his arms, bridal style.

"Let me go!" she beat on his chest—with surprising strength and Inuyasha coughed, losing his breath. He stumbled, but refused to let her free. The couple landed in a heap and rolled. A few feet away from the remains of the fire they stopped, bodies intertwined, legs tangled…but Inuyasha was on top and in control.

He pushed himself away from her face but kept her pinned with one clawed hand. When he met her gaze he saw she was terrified, so frightened that she had been rendered mute. He pursed his lips, knowing that she thought he was going to kill her—he could see the thought in her eyes, smell it in her scent, hear it in her racing heart—or worse still, rape her.

He sighed. "Kagome…"

"My name isn't Kagome…"

"_Yes it is!"_

"I don't know you!" but he was sure that in her eyes there was a glimmer of thought, of consideration. She wasn't so sure of her words.

"You do." He tried to smile at her, his ears fell backward regretfully, "I'm sorry I…" he hated the burning feeling in his face, "…kissed you. It's just that I thought you were dead until in the river…" he saw the confusion in her face and sighed again, frustrated.

Inuyasha let her go and pulled away. Unhappily he sat, cross-legged in the grass. His hands disappeared into the sleeves of his haori. His amber eyes focused on the grass between he and Kagome, deeply and darkly pensive. What could he say to her if she remembered nothing, if she thought she was someone else? What was there he could do?

When he looked over to her he saw that she hadn't run away—which was a start at least. Kagome was staring at him, her eyes still wide and heavy with fear, but she wasn't getting up and running—not yet anyway. After a time she broke the silence of the stare down by extending her hand forward cautiously.

"My name is Sakana…well…that's what Mijai the village's healer decided to call me."

Scowling Inuyasha extended his hand as well, noticing the way that Kagome, or rather, "Sakana," winced at the sight of his claws. He shook her hand as gently as possible. "I'm Inuyasha."

At the sound of his name Sakana blinked, there seemed to be something troubling her. There was a familiarity to the sound, as if it'd slipped from her mouth many, many times. But when she looked at him there were no memories. Inuyasha was watching her carefully, judging her facial features. It appeared that his name struck her somehow, affected her. The hanyou felt a glimmer of hope…if he could jog her memory…

"So…" he mumbled, clearing his throat, "Tell me about yourself, Sakana. Where were you born? The village along the river perhaps? What are your parents' names? Or are you an orphan? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

She looked away from him, her face a giant wrinkle of confusion. "I don't know."

"Oh, really?" he asked, his tone openly mocking, although he knew that that wasn't the way to sound. He hated her not remembering; he hated having had his reunion ruined. "So, why are you named Fish?"

"Because my friend Shisuki pulled me from the river with her jerk of a brother Toka…" she scowled, an ugly expression that didn't belong on Kagome's lovely face…the hanyou wanted to reach out to her and hold her, comfort her…he hated the images that came to mind when she told that snippet of her story: two kids pulling _his_ Kagome dirtied, wounded, sickly, and cold from the waters…and she'd been all alone and without memory. Completely unprotected…somehow he felt guilty, and that made him angry.

The hanyou's ears folded backward and his eyebrows lowered, obscuring the amber orbs. He looked fierce to Sakana then, and she looked quickly away, her heart pounding.

"So, when did this happen to you? Was it about…" he thought frantically, counting days, "A week or more ago?"

She looked back at him, a little surprised, "Yes, it was just that long ago…"

He nodded, his gaze was intense and heavy on her, "That's about the same time when my Kagome fell from a cliff into the river…" he pointed to the bubbling, frothing waters just a hundred feet or so away, "_That_ river, as a matter of fact." He looked "Sakana" straight in the eye, daring her to challenge him, "Kind of ironic that those things happened about the same time roughly, isn't it? Kagome falls into the river and downstream a ways some villagers pull a girl out who looks, smells and sounds the exact _same way_ that my Kagome did. Funny huh? The girl they pull out can't remember her name so they call her _Fish._" Inuyasha cackled sarcastically, his ears were still turned backward; his amber orbs were dark with some unnamable emotion.

"It can't be…" she shook her head, looked away, her lips quivering, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Why not, _Fish?_ Why not?" he growled.

Sakana looked back at him, her brown eyes narrowed, the tears slipped away, rolled down her cheeks…and Inuyasha felt his frustration, his anger, his bitterness slip away at the sight of her tears. He wanted to hold her, wanted to treasure the simple fact that she was _alive_…he had a second chance with her…but she spoke before he could move and her words stopped his heart.

"Because I don't want to be associated with a murderer."

Inuyasha stared at her, slack-jawed; his ears upright again, but only for a moment as a cross between shame and pain coursed through him. His ears folded down, hiding amidst the silvered strands. He could remember attacking the samurais so clearly. How he'd carelessly killed to get to the fire just for the food…_but he'd been hungry_…he'd hurt inside…killing them had been a release then—but now, _now_ it was a curse, a wall between him and the girl he loved, the girl he wanted, the girl he _needed._

There was nothing to say. Inuyasha rose from his sitting position and walked, stiffly to the riverbank. He began to dig for another worm…he'd cook another fish and share it fresh with Kagome—Sakana—whoever she was…if she left while he was digging so be it, he'd find her again, she had been listening to him, she'd had to _think_ about it, she had her doubts. Chances were it'd be easier to speak with her again later, and maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't run away…

A worm squirmed beneath his fingers as he eased it out of its hiding place carefully, trying not to kill it or cut it yet. As he worked it out of the dirt and mud of the riverbank, Inuyasha turned and looked over his shoulder.

Kagome was still sitting in the grass, crying softly.

_Maybe she won't run away…_

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Endnote: Thank you to ALL who have reviewed: **Taeniaea, cool-chick-rae, lynnie1-23** (I think this met your request? (winks)), **toots** (I bet you liked this chappy too eh? (grins)), **BeccaPatty, Pyrinsomniac** (WOW! That sounds like an hassle if I've ever heard one! Thank you for the warning!), **fanfiction1** (hehe, after I read your review I went back and reread my own chapter searching for the word "crochety" that was fun!), **Love-Inu** (good to hear from you then! (smiles))...well I think that's all I have for now (all that remained clearly anyway...with two stories at once the reviews are all scrambled and such...) write in with questions and comments, I AM listening...and from now on it should get more efficient and easier for me to sort through (the email I mean) anyway, review and tell me what you thought! I love hearing from my readers! YAYS! Next chapter Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala meet up with the hanyou and his captured "Sakana"...the sparks fly...till next time! (blows kisses) 


	14. Shadows of Memories

**Disclaimer:** Okay, I don't own Inuyasha, I never will, (whimpers) but, BUT I DO own the lyrics this time...they're from a poem I wrote sometime last year!

**A/N:** Okay, sorry this is so long in coming...I haven't had a chance to write ahead like I usually do, thus I'm reluctant to post at all, but I have to...Okay, in this chapter I use some puns with Kagome's "new" name, Sakana. Remember that it also means "Fish," and you'll be fine...

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Shadows of Memories**

"_Shadows move against the walls_

_Memory stirs like a wind_

_Blown from ages of joy long passed_

_Haunting the soul in the dark of the present_

_Stifling the very breath of life_

_Until angels freeze in the dark…"_

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"Well Shippo, you smell anything interesting here?" Miroku asked as the group rounded the bend and faced the steaming and utterly empty blackish water of the hot springs. 

The kitsune had been busily snuffling at the air for a long time now, but he hadn't told them of anything he'd scented. Miroku suspected that it was too difficult for him to pick out the hanyou's scent from among so many foreign ones. He suspectedthat the task would be impossible for the kit. He wasn't an inuyoukai after all, or an inuhanyou for that matter…

But much to his surprise Shippo nodded enthusiastically and squirmed eagerly on his shoulder. "I smell Inuyasha all right…" he mumbled, but the kit was grinning ecstatically, his green eyes sparkled brightly. It struck both humans as odd that the kit would appear so _pleased_ at that news with the grim possibility of their old hanyou companion having gone feral.

Before anyone could dpeak up and question him, Shippo had leapt straight away from the high position of Miroku's shoulder and was snuffling at the ground, determinedly.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other in confusion. "I wonder what's gotten into _him._" Sango mumbled. But just then Kilala mewed and began fighting Sango's grasp on her. In a second she was on the ground too, sniffing about, searching.

"Apparently Shippo's not the only one…" Miroku observed, smiling faintly.

Sango sighed, fatigued and tense from the idea of the task before them. "I just want to leave this place, Miroku." Her usually powerful, mature voice now shook with emotion. She fought tears and a lump in her throat that had never truly gone away. From her family, to her village, to her brother, to Kagome, and now to Inuyasha…was she doomed to live a life full of grief?

Miroku's gaze had softened with sympathy and shared grief. "It's all right Sango…" he moved to encircle her in his arms, patting her on the back…and surprisingly his hand never strayed anywhere near even her waist. The lecherous monk behaved himself. Although it was hidden, a small smile bloomed over Sango's lips.

Suddenly Shippo cleared his throat and the couple separated, both mildly embarrassed. "I have to tell you something that I know neither of you are going to believe…" the kit began, and Kilala soon joined his side, mewing and nodding her head slightly.

"Okay…"

"Kilala and I both smell Inuyasha…"

"That's not so hard to believe." Miroku muttered.

Shippo threw him a challenging glare and ignored him, "But we also smell the girl he took…"

"That's also not very hard to believe." Miroku pointed out, blinking slowly.

Shippo growled a little, "Don't you understand?"

"No." both the monk and the demon slayer responded at the same time.

Shippo huffed, "Kilala and I _recognize_ the scent of the girl!"

Now both the monk and the demon slayer frowned, "How is that possible, Shippo? Who else in this village do you know?" Sango asked.

"No one in the village—we smell _Kagome._"

Sango and Miroku blinked stupidly, both were rendered mute for a moment. Their minds groped and played with the idea for a few fantastical seconds—Inuyasha had taken the girl with the unusual name of Fish. This girl had been called Fish because she'd been rescued from the river barely alive. Why would Inuyasha take an interest in her? _Kagome?_ Could Kagome have been rescued here, without remembering who she really was, only to be ambushed by theirverylovesick hanyou Inuyasha? But it seemed too coincidental, too perfect…

Miroku shook his head at the same time as Sango. "It can't be Shippo." He sighed, "Life just doesn't work out this way…"

Shippo's little face contorted into a terrible angry frown. "You think I'd make this up! Give me a breakyou guys!"

"Maybe it's just wishful thinking, Shippo…" Sango suggested, sighing sadly, "I miss Kagome too…I keep thinking that what happened in the mountains was only a bad dream until I wake up and live through the day without her." but most of Sango's life seemed like the stuff from a nightmare—yet she lived it anyway.

"It's _not!"_ Shippo screeched, desperate to get them to believe him. At his side Kilala mewed and nodded her head once, agreeing with him again.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other. "Could they both be wrong?" Sango asked, quietly.

Miroku shrugged, "If it's true, well," he shrugged again, "I'll be damned."

She couldn't resist, "With the way you grope women and cheat entire villages—I'd say you already are."

Miroku rolled his eyes, "_Thanks."_

* * *

It was darkening fast. She watched as the red robed demon named Inuyasha gutted and cleaned a fish he'd caught in the river and began to cook it over the fire. She caught his golden gaze on her every so often, sneaking furtive glances this way and that. Meanwhile she openly watched him, willing herself to remember him, if there was anything to remember… 

And, much to both her astonishment and her horror, she _could_ remember things about him now…

Clinging to his red-clothed back as he carried her over the ground vast distances. His silver hair flowing in the wind. His masculine scent leaving her dizzy and hungry for him in a way she'd never felt for any other—it was what she'd felt was missing from her time spent with Koshi.

She remembered his body pinned by an arrow to a tree. He was sleeping there in her mind, peaceful, tranquil. His handsome face unworried and uncomplicated. She remembered flashes of light as the hanyou fought for her and…others…a man, a woman, a cat-like demon and a young kitsune youkai. She couldn't remember any of their names. For all she knew she might've made them up as she was going crazy.

And she remembered other faces too. A kind hearted, sweet woman that must've been her mother, with her eyes and short black hair. A little brother with the same black hair as her mother. An old man, her grandfather, white haired and slightly senile. There were many, many other faces trying to swim back into her mind, but none of them had names, none of them she knew _anything_ about except for their faces. Their faces swam through her mind, haunting her like ghosts. Their words came to her randomly, making her feel as if she wanted to scream…just _one_ moment of silence in her head, _one moment…_

The tears came again, and her head started to throb. Before she could stop it the sobs came, harder than they had been before. In the dark the tears felt less shameful, she thought—wrongly—that it might be harder for the hanyou to see them. But the sobs, they were loud and exposed her as weak. If he was tricking her then as soon as she showed weakness he'd rape her or kill her or eat her alive…whatever hideous torture a creature such as him could plan.

She tried to see through her tears to the glow of the fire—and she caught the hanyou's stare. There was a long moment where neither hanyou nor girl blinked and neither moved. Then the wind blew through the meadow and a few clouds skidded across the moon. The change in the light made Sakana look away swiftly and shiver to herself, still crying, albeitsilently now.

The hanyou sighed softly through the dark. "Please don't cry Kagome…"

"My name's Sakana!" she snarled at him, squeezing her eyes shut, forcing out the last tears. Her eyes hurt, they were as dry as the Sahara desert with all the tears she'd shed in the last few hours.

"Okay, _Sakana,_ come eat some sakana…" she looked up and saw him ripping through the fish, finding the best parts of it for her to eat, muttering to himself just loud enough for her to hear as he did so, "I think, considering sakana are things that people _eat_, Kagome is a _much_ better name…" he looked up again at her, golden eyes flickering like a wild animal in the firelight, "You coming for your sakana, Sakana?" he taunted, scowling.

Bitterness bloomed in the nameless girl. "No, I won't eat anything _you_ make. You're so filthy that I'd probably spend the rest of the week vomiting after eating your fish."

The hanyou seemed to bristle at her words, he looked away and continued digging through the fish's meat. In a moment she saw him bringing some of it to his mouth, chewing, swallowing. But then he looked up at her, his expression angry and wounded. "I want you to eat. You almost died. I can smell that."

Somehow that didn't surprise her. It was _familiar._ Sakana frowned at that thought and forced it away—she didn't know him, and that was that. "I'd rather eat dirt." She hissed.

The hanyou frowned deeply and looked away from her. It sounded as if he was muttering to himself, but Sakana couldn't make out the words.

"I once made you a cure." The hanyou announced, and when she looked up at him Inuyasha's face was calm and expressionless once more, "You had a terrible cold. Miroku and Sango sent you home while I was out looking for things to make you betteringredients for the cure." He snorted, "Stupid monk…I went after you into your Era and tried to make you sleep, but you wouldn't. That's just the way you are…" his eyes were soft with memory, and although it terrified her, Sakana could almost remember his story herself…

"So I made the cure for you and you went to sleep and the next morning I carried you to your school…" he smiled, "My cure may have tasted awful but it sure as hell made you well again!" he looked to her then, and seeing that she was staring at him, listening, thinking over his story, he prodded her, "Do you remember that?"

"No." she lied.

Inuyasha looked away. "You ate my cooking then and it made you feel great. Maybe now if you eat the sakana I cooked you'll agree with me that your name is Kagome and not Sakana." She saw him take a fistful of the fish meat and rise from the fire. Slowly, cautiously, as if she might bite him or blow fire at him, Inuyasha walked to sit in front of her, crossing his legs in his traditional manner. He held out his clawed hand for her. In the night air, away from the heat of the fire, the meat was steaming.

She _was_ hungry, but Sakana made no move to accept the offering, her pride and uncertainty of the hanyou remained stronger than her belly. "I told you I'd rather eat dirt." She tried to add some venom to her words, to sting the hanyou's pride and confidence, but her words came out sounding hollow—which they were. She knew with one look to Inuyasha that he didn't believe her for a second.

"I could drop it in the dirt for you." he offered, smirking for a moment.

She looked away, toward the shimmer of the river in the distance. "Go away."

There was a pause and then Inuyasha lost his patience…with his free hand the hanyou reached for her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, growling under his breath, "Now, you listen to me—wench—firstly if you don't eat willingly I'll have to _force_ it down your throat. Secondly your name is _Kagome Higurashi_. You're from the _future._ You have a grandfather, a mother, and a littlebrother. You had a wonderful life until you fell down your family's old well and woke up _here, now._ You found me pinned to a tree," he frowned here, not liking this part of the tale, "And you freed me from a 50 year sleep…then—you idiot—you shattered the Sacred Jewel and its pieces spread to every single corner of Japan." With the hand that held her frightened face close to him, Inuyasha reached for the chain about her neck and yanked it free of her, holding it up for her to see. "Did you ever wonder what these were?"

Tears had begun to stream down her cheeks, her chin quivered. Inuyasha couldn't even begin to unscramble the mixture of emotions that she was releasing into the air for him to smell. As fast as his outburst had begun it stopped.

The hanyou let her go—though first he forced the fish meat into her palm and ordered her to eat it. The shards he left beside her as well, sighing sadly as they clinked against the hard ground.He walked back to the fire and began to tear through the fish's innards carelessly. Fish meat flew and splattered everywhere. He chewed noisily, his heart pounding with frustration. He forced himself not to look to her, Sakana, Kagome, whoever she wanted to be…but he couldn't force himself not to feel the despair that was spreading inside him.

_Would she ever remember?_

* * *

Kilala careened over the forest, searching for any kind of sign of life. It was obvious that the hanyou wouldn't stay near the hot springs. But the question of what he _would do_, where he'd go, those were up in the air. Would he make a fire that they could see and smell from a ways off? Would he be stealthy, sleep in the trees; leave no track, no scent…they just didn't know. Inuyasha could do whatever he wanted, whatever he felt like. Which direction would he go? They guessed back towards the cliff where Kagome had fallen, but even that they weren't sure of. 

And yet their luck was good…

Just an hour or two after the nightfall Miroku spotted smoke rising in the milky light of the moon. Kilala flew that way and only minutes later they were circling a meadow with a small fire in it—and sitting at that fire, cross legged and cranky—was the hanyou Inuyasha himself.

What they didn't see was Kagome in a small little green kimono on the other side of the meadow, huddled against a tree, trying to avoid Inuyasha's glares.

Kilala descended into the meadow abruptly, startling Inuyasha into jumping to his feet and even drawing Tetsuseiga in preparation for battle for a few seconds. But almost immediately sight and scent told him these were friends and not foe. He sheathed his sword.

"Miroku, Sango, Shippo…" he snorted, "What took you so long?"

Kilala landed but didn't shrink to her unprovoked state until after everyone onboard had gotten off—all of them facing Inuyasha with their arms crossed angrily.

"Inuyasha! You stubborn—"

"Inuyasha you moron!"

"Inuyasha where have you been all this time, and why did you run off?"

All the questions thrown at the hanyou confused him andstifled his senses just long enough that he didn't notice the quick, furtive movement of the figure on the opposite side of the meadow. Sakana was on her feet and dashing straight toward the river, toward the water that would drag her back to the village, to Shisuki and Koshi. She reached the water, bit her tongue to keep from crying out at its chilled temperature, and flung herself into its depths.

Inuyasha heard the splash and he looked immediately to where Kagome _should_ have been sitting against the tree, sulking and crying. It was empty. There was no girl there. The hanyou's heart thumped wildly.

"Get out of the way you idiots!" he shouted, pushing through Sango and Miroku and running straight for the river.

He reached the bank and stepped in up to his knees, quickly looking downstream. He saw rocks in the moonlight, fading away, ripples in the current, fish in the shallower parts, darting this way and that…

He felt as if he might vomit…

And it wasn't becuase ofthe fish he'd eaten.

He couldn't see her _anywhere._

Panicked he turned and faced his three very angry and frustrated friends and wordlessly ran to where Kilala was crouched, behind Sango's legs…but he never got that far, Miroku's staff came out and connected with his skull, sending the hanyou sprawling.

"Hey!" he blustered, rubbing his head almost immediately, his eyes flashing with anger, "What'd you do that for!"

"Because you need to answer our questions! We haven't seen you in a week Inuyasha!"

The hanyou looked from one angry face to another. Even Kilala was angry; her fur was bristling. Inuyasha pursed his lips angrily until they were no more than a thin white line. "Look you guys," he growled, "I had to leave for a while…" his eyes narrowed in anger then, "And when I got back you'd all left, you'd all abandoned me. So I struck out alone—but that doesn't matter right now!"

"It does to us." Sango scolded, frowning.

"You guys abandoned _me,_ but that doesn't matter now—_Kagome's alive._"

They didn't seem particularly surprised by it; although Miroku and Sango _did_ nod and exchange a quick glance…did they doubt his sanity? If the hanyou had had fur he would've bristled for sure.

"Look you morons! I've smelled her, touched her, talked with her…she's as clear and alive as any one of us!"

Shippo nodded eagerly, "I know, I smelled her Inuyasha…where is she now?" he looked around the meadow, blinking his green eyes.

Inuyasha leaned down to be on the kit's level and growled, "She jumped into the river and I couldn't stop her because you guys came…" he showed the kit his fist for emphasis to his message. Shippo squealed in fear and leapt behind Sango's legs for protection beside Kilala.

"Inuyasha—stop it!" Miroku shouted, swinging his staff again to hit the hanyou, but this time Inuyasha ducked and grabbed hold of the staff, tugging it right out of Miroku's hold.

"I'm sick of you people." He growled, tossing the monk's staff onto the ground. "We're sitting around here wasting time when we _should_ be on Kilala, going downstream to that blasted village to rescue Kagome!"

"But it sounded like Kagome doesn't feel like she _needs_ to be rescued, Inuyasha." Sango sighed, praying Inuyasha would understand, "She doesn't remember…"

Inuyasha's ears tweaked and wriggled, "How did _you_ guys find that out?" he demanded, irritated.

"A friend of Kagome's told us. They call her Sakana."

"Fish?" Inuyasha growled, "Yea, I know…but _damn it!_ We should be going to get her! She doesn't belong there, she belongs with us or with her family on the other side of the well!"

Miroku nodded slowly, "Yes, Inuyasha, you're right. But imagine how hard it must be for the poor girl. Let _us_ deal with it."

"_You!"_ Inuyasha snarled.

"Yes, _us,"_ Sango glared, "_We_ can talk to the villagers because _we_ didn't go on a rampage and kill a bunch of samurais…"

Inuyasha paused, eyes wide and frustrated. His fists curled into balls of anger. _How many times will that come back to biteme in the ass in **one** day!_

"I only did it for the food—and since when have you guys started _liking _samurais?" but the defense was weak, and he knew it. _Why, why, WHY!_

"Well, because you were hungry we're going to have to be the ones to get her back…"

"If she doesn't drown first in the river while we're sitting on our asses talking!"

Miroku and Sango exchanged a brief glance and then the demon slayer turned round to signal Kilala to transform. In a few seconds she and Shippo were on Kilala and careening over the river's surface. Inuyasha watched them go with a deep, frustrated scowl marring his face.

"Inuyasha." Miroku called, quietly, softly.

"What is it, monk? Can't you leave me alone!"

"We've all missed Kagome dearly…but I think that you missed her the most. I know you have deep feelings for her…"

"What kind of crap are you talking about, Miroku?" Inuyasha yelled, turning his face away from the light of the fire to hide the crimson that the monk's words had painted on his face.

"Don't think you can fool me, Inuyasha. I think that your feelings for Kagome—your worry and your guilt—have left you a little crazy…"

"Try pissed off!" Inuyasha growled, throwing the monk a warning glare, desperately hoping that Miroku would shut up.

Miroku ignored him; "I just want you to sit back and stop worrying for her. It only makes things worse. Your grief and stress and then the relief of finding her alive—it's left your sense of reality warped…"

"No it hasn't!" the hanyou snarled, fiercely, "I know _very_ well what's going on! Kagome doesn't remember who she is! We have to get her away from that village before they convince her to stay! What the _hell_ can I say to her mother if we can't get her to remember and come back?"

Miroku sighed slowly, and patted Inuyasha on the shoulder, "We're going to get her back. Sango always gets what she wants." The monk smirked a little at that thought and then cleared his throat and glanced to Inuyasha again. He couldn't see the hanyou's face and suspected that his half-demon friend wouldn't let him see it at all anytime soon for fear of exposing his emotions. "Besides…Kagome probably couldn't ever _really_ forget you, even if she wanted to…" he gave the hanyou's shoulder a squeeze, "I think she feels the same way about you as you do her."

"What is this you keep going on about, Miroku? Let's just find Kagome and get her the hell out of here!" the hanyou brushed roughly passed Miroku and started to put out the fire, dousing the meadow in darkness…he wanted to hide the tears that were growing in his eyes.

_What if what Miroku said is true? What if she _did_ love me. But what if she never remembers it now? What if she thinks of me forever as a murderer, even if we _do_ get her back?_

Endnote: Okay...I may not get everyone in but I'm going to try to do that AND answer questions and comments and such... _Lena17_ You're not a torture! _fanfiction1_ It would've been creepy! But fortuantely I knew there'd be a way round itShippo's got a nose too! _inuyasha'sbabe07_ She's starting to remember, but not completely, only fragments, and right now she's more aware of his vicious strength and blind grief from when he attacked the samuraisoh, sorry it almost made you cry! Thank you:_souless one_, _Taeniaea, kikiprincess,_ and _Heist_ Thank you! (I think! (Winks)Am I that sadistic?),_nonya_ Is this better? The criticism was actually important to me, and made me eager to post this chapter...I worry about keeping things real, but as the characters haven't really been in such a situation I have to play a little. I might've seen it a little on my own too, as in this chapter he's a lot rougher with her, frustrated, and with Miroku I think he's pretty much accurate...write in and tell me, kay? _Lavender Valentine_ Thank you! That little tidbit was actually unplanned, but as is frequent with writing, it works itself in later cyclically. That hit me at the moment I was writing it, how Kagome/Sakana would see him, how it'd bother her, and thus how IY would have to repent and reanalyze what he'd done. I'm glad you liked it! (YAYS!)... _Pyrinsomniac_ Got a little of it here for you... (smiles) hope it pleases you! _cool-chick-rae_ Time tells all! (snickers) _toots,_ Gosh! That's this chapter in a nutshell! I should call you for summaries from now on! (winks)

Kay, I am through with my High School play Music Man now! WHEE! Lotsa fun, lotsa stories and such...but now that it's over: MORE TIME! Or at least I hope...as a senior in my last semester it's getting rough and serious...soon I shall pass into that realm of semi-adulthood...it's mucho scary and almost a little sad, but at once VERY exciting! Anyway...as this pertains to you guys: Things in the stories should start speeding up...for this story the next chapter is especially cool in the beginning...I was writing pretty well that night...you'll see...anyway, love you all! Remember to review! Thank you!


	15. Truth is in the River

Discl: No, nada, zilch nothing.

**A/N:** Okay, sorry for my prolonged absence but this is the week of my birthday and i had a choir concert yesterday to work out and stuff...(sighs) also I had to rewrite this chapter and delete a couple of the others. It didn't feel right...(sighs again) But you guys liked the last installment certainly! WOW! I want to update before midnight so I can officially say I updated on my birthday (YES! This IS my birthday, I turn NINETEEN today, I'm SO old it's starting to make me sick...older than all my peers by at least a year...anyway, yes, before midnight if I can, so it'll be March 18...so I have 8 minutes...) thus I apologize for mistakes ahead of time because I'm just going to post...the end...

**

* * *

****Truth is in the River**

"_Dream away everyday_

_Try so hard to disregard_

_The rhythm of the rain that drops_

_And coincides with the beating of my heart…"_

* * *

The river swept her, faster and faster, confused, frightened, Sakana tried to swim, but the frigid water robbed her of all coordination. _Maybe this was a mistake…_

She slipped under the water. Her hair flowed around her, tangled, confusing, like seaweed it choked her when she resurfaced, got caught in her mouth. She wanted to cry out for help but…_that would bring Inuyasha…_

A memory stirred within her then, a stranger memory than most of the others. There was a woman just like her somewhere…who looked just like her. She remembered kneeling before the tree where Inuyasha was pinned in her mind's eye. He called her by another name, saying she not only looked but she also smelled like this other girl he'd known…what had been her name? And why did she connect it with such pain?

_Because Inuyasha loved her and not **you.**_

_That_ did it. Sakana gasped in the night air and sunk beneath the river's surface again. Her mind and memory reeled. _Kikyo, that was her name…_

_I loved Inuyasha…I was Kagome…_

Before she could stop it the memory of waking up with his warm, moist lips pressed to hers resurfaced in her mind and she felt, somehow, through the cold of the river water all around her, a thrill of heat. Her heart beat frantically and she almost breathed the water as the memories began to surge through her, began to return with a force that she'd never seen or felt or even imagined could happen. Her head throbbed…

Through the blackness of the water Sakana—Kagome—saw a purple glow, eerie and beautiful at once. The Shards about her neck were floating; the glow was their doing. It had to be them! She reached to grab the Shards, but the current increased then and swept her around strangely, off balance. The glow disappeared to black…

Her mind swam, she was dizzy, and water snuck into her ears, there was pain there…pressure…

Her lungs felt as if they might _explode!_

She paddled frantically, seeking the surface, but she had no sense of direction in the blackness. Yet somehow she broke the surface. Her hair was everywhere again, a massive clog, a thing for her to choke on. She coughed and struggled to regain her breath as the water swept her along blindly…

A shadow loomed in the distance, massive, blacker than the black of the water. Fear opened up like a chasm inside her. She was heading right for it!

Sakana—Kagome?—braced herself, sinking below the surface, twisting about trying to avoid the thing…too late…

She struck a rock, her head slammed against it by the current. The air in her lungs escaped in a cloud of white bubbles. White against the black. Her world began to fade and wash away. Sense left her; thoughts vanished. She sensed that she was sinking deeper into the river, but at the same time she saw a strange light glowing through the black. If she was right, and she was sinking further down, why was there a strange light?

Was it a hallucination…?

…No, it wasn't.

She saw the streak of purple light, glowing brighter and brighter just as she opened her lips to take a breath, a huge lungful of cold water.

And a last thought skidded across her mind: _I'm Kagome…not a fish…_

Then there was nothing.

* * *

Koshi stood stiff as stone, watching Namaru and the other leading samurais carrying the pyres toward him and the gate. Outside the village's protective walls they'd light the pyres and burn the deceased men's remains to avoid spreading disease. It was all he could do to keep himself still physically while inside he felt as if he were dying, shriveling in agony on the inside, centimeters below the surface skin… 

It was the day after Sakana had been taken by the Red Demon, and was long since, it was likely, dead and rotting. In the night after Koshi had learned of her disappearance he'd fought his emotions, his despair. In only the few days—just shy of week—he'd fallen in love with the mysterious beauty. And now she was dead, rotting somewhere in the damned demon's belly. His fists clenched at the thought.

Rumor had it that there'd been a monk and a demon slayer that'd come to the village when Sakana had been taken. They'd come to slay the beast…but none had seen them since they'd taken off for the hot springs the previous afternoon. Koshi prayed that they were still alive—when the demon slayer returned he planned to beg her to take him on as an apprentice. He would learn how to kill demons. It would be a better and swifter life than living as a slave to the samurais, a stable boy. As a demon slayer he would be able to do what he felt was right—for he'd come to bitterly hate the Red Demon and all of its wild, lawless, uncaring kind—and earn a very decent wage doing it.

There were not enough demon slayers in the world as far as he'd seen.

The boy stiffened his body again as the pyres passed him. He bowed his head slightly as they glided by. _I'm sorry Hekamino…_ the old samurai warrior who'd always been somewhat of a father to him had died early that morning, just before dawn. The infections from his slashing wounds had spread through his blood and to his heart, killing him. With the terrible fever wearing down his body's energy, Hekamino had never truly regained consciousness after they'd arrived in the village. Koshi had never had a chance to say goodbye to the old man…now he'd never get one.

The tears prickled in his eyes suddenly and Koshi bit his lip, forcing them back. The lump of emotional pain in his throat refused to leave no matter how hard he swallowed it. First Sakana yesterday, now Hekamino. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

The demon had to die…

The procession passed Koshi by, shamefully, the youth closed his eyes to hide the tears. _Samurais don't cry. Men don't cry._ Koshi was 16—a man by Feudal Japan's standards. But even so the emotions were there. _I thought being a man meant you didn't feel anything like this. Life was supposed to be a good thing…_but the idle thoughts he'd had as a boy were far from true. They hadn't been true then and they weren't true now when he _was_ a man…

Some of the villagers followed the pyres outside the village's gates and watched as the fires were lit. Koshi snuck around these crowds and avoided the light of the fire, averting his eyes. He just didn't want to remember Hekamino's body burning there for all to see. It was supposed to be honorable, but Koshi didn't see it that way. He wanted to remember the man the way he had been alive—full of warmth, laughs, jokes, and stern lessons on life. Most of the samurais had deeply loved him simply for his sense of humor. He was kind—an unusual thing for a samurai. It made him endearing to most samurais—they liked him even when they didn't want to.

_That_ was what he wanted to remember, that and all the lessons Hekamino had to teach him.

The fire blazed high into the sky without Koshi's eyes to watch it. The young man crept away from the pyres and columns of smoke; instead he walked through the rice fields, which were mostly empty, and towards the river.

The silence and utter indifference of nature was, oddly, comforting. Koshi threaded in and out of the brush, sometimes right on the path that the people of the village would've used and at other times he only skirted it, letting the weeds and grasses tickle his calf-muscles. His senses seemed to vanish and turn inward as he walked. Hours might've passed, or mere seconds, Koshi would never know. But whether he walked senselessly for years or only a few seconds ceased to matter at all when his eyes landed on a very dark blotch of green at the river's shallow edge on the opposite bank.

It was an off-shade of green, so dark that it was unnatural, thus catching the youth's eye. At first sight the thing appeared to be a slime-colored rock, but the slime was so dark that it couldn't be real. And it was oddly shaped, and didn't appear solid enough to actually _be_ a rock. He stared at it without thought, empty of all feeling inside, almost unable to analyze it, or even to comprehend why it so attracted him…and then consciousness snuck back into his mind, drip by painful drip.

_It was the color of Sakana's kimono…_

Without another thought Koshi raced into the river's tough current, arms flailing and eyes wide with some terrible emotion that was caught between horrified and frantic. Midway across the racing water Koshi was overwhelmed and he slipped under the ridge of the waves, into the black chilled depths. Despite the way his body shivered and convulsed at the sudden abuse, the youth's determination, and desperation at the sight of the strange "thing," on the other bank forced him up again. He rose from the water, splashing and sputtering, but his eyes refused to leave the bloated green form that lied, ominously still, on the other side of the river.

Stumbling into the shallower edges of the river, Koshi collapsed to his knees in the water, which was just shy of a foot deep and just outside of the rough current's reach. Shaking, he hesitated, looking over the green thing, suddenly terrified at the realization that this _thing_ really was a body…

And it wasn't just anyone's body…

A strangled, choking sound wrenched its way out of his throat, the first outward sign of what was ripping him apart inside.

_Sakana!_

He reached forward then, his hands still trembling from far, far more than just the cold of the river. He took hold of the cold, flaccid, and completely shapeless thing and lifted it, hauling it toward the bank. The simple kimono was soaked and waterlogged. As it came free of the river's concealing blackness, Koshi felt as if he would be sick. A mesh of tangled black hair rose up with the thing, and flesh appeared, as white as the moon at night.

The first jolt of horror and grief at seeing that it was _real_ almost made Koshi drop her body back into the water. But, although his hand shook unceasingly, and his breathing was becoming absolutely erratic, Koshi persevered.

In a moment the young man found himself with Sakana's limp, pallid form lying on her back on the sandy riverbank. He didn't know how many minutes passed during which he simply stared at her, empty and bitter and mourning. The tears fell silently at first and without any motion from the youth. He might've tried to hold her still, lifeless form close to him—but in a way he was still too stunned from having found her body to be able to react to it. Everything seemed to be moving in a haze to him…seconds passed in the real world while to Koshi entire lifetimes seemed to go by, tortuous and filled with unsatisfied longing and bitterness at all that had been lost.

His eyes fell to her lips. They stuck out so vividly against the rest of her body because they were blue with the cold against the pale whiteness of the rest…Koshi closed his eyes, trying to force away the reality that lied before him—only to be swamped by his memories of the girl while she had been living. He saw her bright white, pretty smile, the sparkling in her eyes, and the vivaciousness of her laugh…

Without even realizing that he was doing it, Koshi reached out one hand to touch her…and his fingertips met up with_ heat_.

Startled, he opened his eyes and looked down at her again. His fingers hadn't landed on her face, instead they rested on one shoulder—well, actually on a hard lump on the shoulder, beneath the soaked kimono. Perplexed, the youth felt it a little more and noticed that the structure moved…and on Sakana's neck a golden chain inched as well, mimicking the small, warm lump's movements.

Something suddenly stirred inside Koshi, and without understanding why he did it, or even thinking about the action, he leaned down close to her still, lifeless, frozen form, parted her bluish lips with his thumb, and blew air into her mouth and throat. He did this motion a second and third time without thought until, on the fourth try, he felt Sakana's cold lips suddenly move and shift underneath his own.

Koshi pulled back from her, stunned. He watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as Sakana came back from the dead amazingly.

Her lips moved, her mouth opened wide, and she gasped, choking. Koshi rolled her mechanically onto her side and watched over her as the pale, barely alive girl coughed and sputtered, frantically trying to expel the liquid water she'd swallowed and breathed inadvertently from the river the night before. Then she shivering began, intense, convulsive shivering that left the girl looking miserable and exhausted…but _she was alive!_

Koshi pulled her still half-coughing, heavily shivering, freezing body close to him, crying all over again. "Sakana! Sakana!" he murmured against her waterlogged mess of hair, "Thank the gods that you're alive! I thought for certain that you were dead and gone! The Red Demon hasn't gotten you yet!"

But the girl in his arms was too weak and cold to answer, in fact she was barely conscious. Koshi wasted no time in trying to get her to safety. Gently he wrapped his outer kimono over the girl, then he held her tightly to his chest as he rushed downstream toward the villager's crossing place.

Jostled roughly in his arms, Kagome weakly gasped at the air and shivered in the cold. Yet even so early in her rescue the color in her cheeks was beginning to return, the blue from lack of oxygen and the cold on her lips steadily diminishing, and the girl even managed to open her eyes and cling to Koshi with her weakened, frozen fingers. At her throat the shards of the Shikon Jewel glowed, although their shine was hidden thoroughly below her soaked kimono. They warmed and revived the girl, filling her with strength at a time when she should've died or at the very least be unconscious.

In her first plunge and soaking journey through the river's blackness, those same shards were the only things that kept Kagome alive. The magic within them might have spelled out continuous danger for the priestess guarding them from the ever-present threat of power hungry demons, but it also offered her semi-demon like powers. She was quicker on her feet, harder to kill, and a faster healer than normal mortals.

The shards had saved her before, and they had saved her now, but unlike the incident before, the shards had remained with her through the entire mishap…things would be different now, though no one knew it just yet…

Kagome coughed weakly against the warm arms and the rough fabric of her rescuer's kimono. Blindly her fingers searched for, and found, the shards that were burning, seemingly, into her skin, and grasped them, hard. And in her foggy, still half-unconscious mind the first clear thought formed and raced through her being, _I'm Kagome…_

_Kagome._

* * *

"Would you like to eat some of this fish too, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked pleasantly, gesturing toward the skewered fish that were roasting over the smoldering fire. His manner and tone were much like a father's when addressing a spoiled, pouting child. And indeed, that was very much the disposition that the hanyou had adopted. 

Across the meadow, his back to Miroku and the fire, Inuyasha sat in his typical cross-legged Indian style form, hands covered by his red sleeves, nose upturned haughtily. His amber eyes, however, were filled with frustration and clear unhappiness—and they were clearly trained on the river. His ears were turned toward it and unmoving. He was determined to hear anything that might signal Sango, Shippo, and Kilala's return…and with them Kagome…

Yet already he was beginning to sense that it was too late for things to end so uncomplicatedly. If it'd been _that_ easy he was sure that Kilala would've returned with Shippo, Sango, and Kagome on her back the night before, but of course the night had passed—sleeplessly for both the hanyou and the monk—without such luck. Not long after the sun had risen Inuyasha had noted that Miroku had drifted off to sleep, and he'd contemplated running off…but instead he chose to catch fish from the river further upstream. Unlike before—when he'd meticulously made sure to avoid getting himself wet—Inuyasha hunted the fish as he would've done as a pup, diving and clawing at the slippery, scaly things until they tired and he could grasp them with his talons.

He'd returned with five large fish for Miroku, who'd still been deeply asleep, snoring lightly and even starting to drool. Since waking the demented but very fatigued and ravenous monk, Inuyasha hadn't spoken a word, hadn't even looked at his companion. He'd been able to smell and hear the progress of the monk's breakfast from behind him easily enough, and he didn't care to talk—not while he could be pouting, contemplating the continual lack of an appearance by Kagome.

Miroku's attempt to get him to eat now that the fire was dying and the fish were cooked, were the first words to _really_ be exchanged at all that day. Already this new and very frustrating, generally useless day was aging quickly. Inuyasha glanced toward the sun through the trees out of the corner of his eye—making sure not to turn his head to do it so that Miroku wouldn't notice any movement—and guessed that it was probably nearly noon already…

_I **hate** sitting on my ass while Kagome's out there alone…damn that monk! If he weren't here I could slaughter the whole bloody village and just take her by force! _

Certainly that would be _so_ much faster, _so_ much easier…

Miroku's voice came again after the gentle, patient sound of the monk clearing his throat, "Inuyasha? Should I take that as a no?"

"Feh." Inuyasha huffed, grunting, shifting only briefly, acknowledging that he had, in fact, heard the other man's words. He restrained the full snort that he wanted to let loose with at Miroku's naivety. He assumed—incorrectly—that Inuyasha needed to eat cooked fish. In truth the hanyou had eaten three other fish straight out of the river, cold and still wriggling in his claws.

He wasn't the least hungry now!

"Okay, but I'm not going to try and save your share from Kilala, Shippo, Sango and…well…" his voice faltered and Inuyasha cursed himself inwardly when his ears fell backward along his skull, silently indicating that he was listening and _hating_ what he was hearing. "When the others get back I'm not going to save you any fish…" he finally finished, forcing himself to sound confident, but of course the fear that was imbedded in his voice had already been clearly detected by the hanyou and once exposed there was no way to cover it again.

_I'm tired of this bloody waiting!_

Inuyasha growled abruptly and rose to his feet. He sensed the sudden stiffness of the monk behind him, preparing to stop him, but he wouldn't let him get that far…the hanyou turned to face the monk, his face a stolid mask of unhappiness.

"I'm _not_ going to sit around here on my _ass_ anymore _Miroku,_" he hissed, his fists clenching up at his sides unconsciously, "It's obvious that Sango and Shippo can't find her…"

"I see no reason to jump to such a conclusion…" Miroku began, setting aside his steaming slab of fish meat and rising to his sandaled feet, using the jangling staff as a crutch as he did so.

Inuyasha growled, louder, more menacingly than before, and took a step forward threateningly. "Look monk—if you don't see a reason than I think you must have choked on your drool when you fell asleep because your brain isn't working worth—"

"Inuyasha," Miroku began, once more taking the depreciating tone of a father, "You _can't_ go to the village to look for her, that's where I suspect she is, anyway, although I know how much you want to, how much you worry about her—"

"Worry? About her!" Inuyasha stepped backward, suddenly changing his tune. Miroku could hardly contain the smirk he felt tugging at the corners of his lips. "You've got it all wrong monk!" he insisted, scowling.

Miroku didn't bother fighting with him about it, he merely rolled his violet eyes skyward once in annoyance and continued with his speech, "But because of what you did to those samurais you _can't_ go in there…what would happen to Kagome if they realized that she is traveling with you, hmm?" he took swift note of Inuyasha's expression, which was suddenly twisted into a deep frown of realization, "I don't think I need to say anything more, do I?" he finished, one dark eyebrow arched.

"This is stupid!" Inuyasha raged, snarling to himself. Immediately the pacing began again—earlier, throughout most of the night in fact—the hanyou had been tromping down the grasses on one side of the meadow, creating a path of frustration that lead nowhere and accomplished nothing. It didn't even help to rid the hanyou of his pent up emotions.

But although Miroku found that the pacing made _him_ uncomfortable, at least it was a sure sign that Inuyasha had seen reason. He sighed regretfully and sat heavily back down by the dying fire, reaching for his fish again…and a moment later regretted the assumption that the hanyou was under control. Indeed, Inuyasha was like a tamed wolf or big cat, one could never trust the animal, for on occasion it was likely to revert back to its wild, untrustworthy and unpredictable state.

He heard a grunt from Inuyasha just as he lifted the warm meat—his fish breakfast—to his lips, and a moment later when he looked up at a flurry of startling movement, his heart jumped like a frightened mouse. The violet eyes grew big and wide.

_The meadow was empty._

Miroku leaped to his feet, forgetting his staff completely, and dashed to where the hanyou's crumpled trail of frustration had been smashed into the grass, and searched the trees. Although he could hear the birds screeching in fear, and see them taking flight from their roosts further into the forest, his eyes saw no sign of the wild Inuyasha. No flash of silver hair, no flicker of his red clothing…

_So much for listening to reason!_

What was he supposed to do now? Miroku looked toward the river's steady current, his face tense with concentration. Could he wait for Sango and Shippo and Kilala to return now? Or should he try to pursue the hanyou? And what about the village…?

Miroku sighed, angrily and turned back to where his staff was lying in the cool grasses, beside the fish that he'd dropped in his sudden shock. _So much for my breakfast!_

Grumbling with frustration, the monk picked up his golden staff and began to walk toward the river. He immediately took up on the small, obscure path that ran along its banks, straight toward the village…

Endnote: I shall endeavor to update quickly for you...next chapter I plan on having Kagome wake up and start to recover, Sango, Kilala and Shippo get to have a word in, as well as Miroku, and we see what Inuyasha has decided to do now that he's run off...ACK! less than five minutes left! From my email, I remember only one question and here's the answer: Yes, this really IS Kagome...Sakana is kindaa second personality, but she IS Kagome...I'm not playing any cruel tricks here guys...uh oh! Four minutes... THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED! 140 Reviews the last I checked! this one really took off! YAYS! See ya next time...AHH! three minutes...pray for me...


	16. Somebody's Waiting For Me

**Disclaimer:** Well I'm going to say it againI don't own 'em, and I don't even own the lyrics (the only one I've owned here was the lead-off for "Shadows of Memories." I think that one was mine! YAY!)

**A/N:** Okay, I have a big essay to write from the moment I finish this until whenever it's done (with my luck that might not be till midnight being as that I'm such a hopeless procrastinator!) for my Adv English class...to put it short I have to get an A or B at least or my pride will die becuase my traditional place of unchallenged success has been English...ha...got our cap and gowns for graduation today...(shivers)...anyway, on the Sakana/Kagome and the others...obviously this chapter take sits name from the story's title. But in my opinion this isn't the most rivetin chapter, it merely fills in gaps that I can't just let go, the next chapter I think will be more spine-tingling, heart thrilling, teeth grinding action... Notice that I use the names Sakana and Kagome as interchangeable. Sometimes (all the time Ihope)I've used whichever name applies to who's observing her...when it's young miss Higurashi thinking herself I think I always call her Kagome, becuase her identity is pretty much restored...also when the villagers talk about Sakana's "greatest possession,"(as well asall the worries about the RedDemon corrupting her physically) they're talking about her virginity, obviously assuming the worst about Inuyasha...(snickers)anyway...those arethe only notes I can think of for this chapter...enjoy!

**

* * *

Somebody's Waiting For Me**

"_And I am searching for you_

_Waiting to brush your shoulder_

_But I'm alone_

_I watch the faces roll by_

_Roll, roll, roll right by me…"_

* * *

In the late afternoon the day after she'd been abducted by the dreaded Red Demon and presumed dead, Koshi stirred the village's awe like a cook stirs miso soup when he brought Sakana back—alive. Once more the villagers whispered their stories, both amazed and frightened of the strange happenings at once. Various people crept by Mijai's healing hut curiously, peeping in just long enough to see that just as they'd heard, Koshi was inside with the healer. They speculated on the girl's health and wellbeing now that she'd been returned alive from the clutches of a demon. 

"First the river, and now the Red Demon himself!"

"Yes, yes, I know…she must be immortal!"

"No—she's human! You saw her about the village, making eyes at that boy Koshi. No youkai or sprite would do _that_…"

"But if that's true…imagine what's happened to her, you know what a demon would do to an innocent girl like that! Take away her greatest possession…"

"Oh! The poor thing!"

Overhearing these things, Shisuki made her way to Mijai's hut, her stomach twisted in a knot of anxiety and fear for her friend. She'd watched Sakana awaken from her beginnings as a half-drowned, skinny young woman pulled from the edges of their river into Koshi's intended lover and something close to a legend among the villagers. Some hadn't called her "Sakana," but "Miracle," instead. It was true some resented her and suspiciously thought of her as the stroke of bad luck that had brought down the wrath of the Red Demon upon them, but those were few and far between. Now the thought of seeing Sakana sickened and weakened again—and corrupted by the Red Demon physically—made her sick to her stomach.

When the girl bowed before Mijai and pleaded to see her friend Mijai immediately ushered her in, welcoming her. "I was thinking," he chuckled, "That you were part of the reason she woke so well before. Koshi is at her side at all times—and shows no sign of leaving!" he seemed to nod his head at that, almost gravely, but said nothing else of it to Shisuki's surprise, "…But even so, I believe the more the merrier! And you have a wonderful bedside manner 'Suki, dear. Besides, Koshi needs sleep, as I do too, and there needs to be _someone_ there watching over her—those samurais are always peeking in here, ready to cause trouble, especially the big squinty ugly fellow Koshi calls Namaru." He scowled.

Shisuki barely took in any of the healer's words before they'd reached the back room and her breath was stolen away at the sight of Sakana lying among the furs. A sense of déjà vu nearly overwhelmed her and for a second she was intensely dizzy. Mijai's strong, sturdy hand came out to support her shoulder, keeping her from swaying.

"Are you all right, 'Suki, dear?"

She nodded timidly, "Yes Mijai-sama." She whispered, "I just felt so terrible seeing her sickly again…I was getting so close to her when she disappeared…" she sighed, thinking fondly of how sweet it would be if Sakana and Koshi were able to follow what seemed to be their clear destiny to her—to love one another and marry. She smiled when she thought of having someone so sweet and handsome as Koshi as a semi-brother-in-law…

"Well, 'Suki, go in and keep Koshi company, and I suspect Sakana will come out of her sleep soon." He nodded assuredly, "And in a little while I'll bring you in some soup, sound good?"

Shisuki nodded and bowed slightly, "Yes, Mijai-sama." When the healer turned to leave her alone Shisuki walked silently, with her head bowed respectfully, into the room and knelt beside Sakana's futon alongside Koshi.

"'Suki…" Koshi blinked when she knelt at his side, startled, "I didn't hear you come in…"

"I didn't want to disturb you, Koshi-sama." She whispered, her eyes gleaming sadly in the faint, quiet light of the healer's back room. It was always so tranquil in the healer's hut, as it was designed, that frequently the guests and friends and family that waited for their loved ones to heal would fall into deep sleeps themselves. Koshi, with his bleary eyes and thick speech sounded as if he might've been falling into one of these. Shisuki regretted having disturbed him. Sleeping was sometimes the best way to wait things out.

Koshi sighed exhaustedly and rubbed one hand over his face roughly, trying to wake himself up. "I have gone through too much in the last few days…" he muttered, "The attack, the deaths…" he looked tenderly to Sakana and stretched out one hand, stroking her cheek lovingly, "The emotions…"

Shisuki looked away from his open display, hating the way her cheeks abruptly burned. She had never seen such love! Not even among her parents! Beside her Koshi's words went onward.

"When she wakens…when she's well again, I'm going to devote myself to her. I'm going to leave the samurais to settle with her. Perhaps, if the demon slayer that I heard rumor of, comes through again, I shall ask him to train me…"

Shisuki glanced suddenly back to Koshi and frowned lightly, "The slayer was a woman…"

Koshi blinked at her stupidly for a moment and then grinned brightly, "Oh, I see…I'm sorry…" he patted her shoulder and nodded his head in an acknowledgement of deep respect. "I should've known better than to assume…"

"It's okay…" Shisuki chewed on her lower lip nervously, avoiding Koshi's gaze and instead looking on Sakana carefully. The girl was pale and her breathing was rough—rougher than she remembered from her first illness, her first brush with the river. But other than that the girl appeared only to be sleeping…or _did_ she? Shisuki reached up and brushed aside the sleeping girl's bangs delicately, fidgeting nervously under Koshi's careful scrutiny.

"What are you doing?" he frowned.

"I'm looking at her nasty bruise…" she scooted a stray lock of black, ragged hair from Sakana's brow, "Do you see? This was healed, she must've bumped her head again…she has no luck…"

Koshi shook his head fervently and reached out to fondle Sakana's limp and pale hands in his own, squeezing them reassuringly, "That's not true…" he whispered, his voice deep and heavy with his obvious warmth—perhaps even love?—for the sleeping girl. Shisuki turned away once more, hating the flush in her cheeks.

But she couldn't stop herself from asking, "What will you do if—when—she wakes up, Koshi-sama?"

Beside her Koshi sighed heavily and leaned forward, resting his head closer to the girl he loved. "I shall nurse her to health and happiness…and when the time is right, once she's strong enough, I will ask her to be my wife. I cannot live without her beauty in my life any longer…" he breathed, serenely, and Shisuki found that no matter how she tried to couldn't look into his face directly…she kept her eyes on Sakana's face, wondering what the poor girl had gone through at the hands of a demon…she cringed and tried to look away from this too but was unable to.

A loud voice reached Shisuki and Koshi's ears then and they looked to one another, alarmed. "I'll look in on it, Koshi-sama." Suki announced and walked to the first room of the healer's hut when Mijai conducted his non-healing activities religiously, keeping the back room empty and spacious for his patients and his patients only. What she sawmade her stare in wonder.

Mijai was speaking rather heatedly to a tall, lithe woman wearing a tight, black body suit. The young woman looked as if she and Mijai had taken an instant disliking to each other, and it appeared that the woman wanted inside the healer's hut. If she hadn't recognized the woman in the black and pink body suit Shisuki might have been frightened, she might have agreed with Mijai's opinion, whatever it was, but she _did_ recognize her…

Shisuki stepped forward and bowed to get Mijai's attention. The old healer turned eagerly away from the other woman, glad to ignore her and deal with Shisuki instead. "Yes, 'Suki?"

"Mijai-sama," the younger girl bowed several more times to him, all of these bows more apologetic than anything else, "This woman is the demon slayer that has come to kill the Red Demon for us! You should let her in and accommodate her…"

The healer scowled unhappily, "But, Shisuki," he growled, uncharacteristically grouchy, "There are youkai with her, _two_ of them!"

'Suki looked briefly passed the healer to where Sango, the demon slayer, waited impatiently, a tiny yellowish, keen-eyed neko-youkai in her arms and a young kitsune youkai child at her feet with, red hair and green eyes wide and innocent. She smiled, remembering them, and Sango returned the expression, although her memory was foggy and she had failed to remember the young girl as the one that had alerted them to Kagome's presence in the village to begin with.

Satisfied, Shisuki glanced back to Mijai and bowed deeply again, "I know them Mijai-sama. They likely rescued Sakana from the clutches of the Red Demon you know…" she put in, letting the healer understand that he probably owed the other woman more than he thought by far.

Mijai had taken her meaning well and he nodded, his eyes bright with understanding. Quickly he turned round and faced Sango, bowing slightly. "Hello Lady Slayer, what did you say yourname was…?"

"Sango." She nodded respectively once and then lifted the neko-youkai, "This is Kilala," the small kitten youkai mewed in response to hearing her name, but Sango had already moved on through the introductions by then, "And this," she nudged the kitsune with her foot, "Is Shippo." In response to her prodding Shippo squealed and leapt behind her leg as if afraid that Mijai might suddenlyeat him.

"He's shy." Sango explained, trying to get the kit off her leg futilely.

"Mmm, hmmm…" Mijai nodded, though his eyes fairly shouted that he wasn't impressed, "Lady Sango, the girl that Koshi pulled from the river earlier just this day is right over here…" he led the way, giving 'Suki a quick scowl as he passed her. Her intervention hadn't beenappreciated, let alone forgotten.After a moment's hesitation for respect, Shisuki followed after them.

As soon as Sango crossed into the room she felt her anxiety at not having been able to find Kagome disappear. The girl was obviously alive and well cared for under multiple layers of furs. But the second thing she noticed was that there was a boy about Kagome's age knelt at the futon, the unconscious girl's limp and pallid hands in his grasp. He was massaging and squeezing them rhythmically with worry and care at once. Sango felt her guts coil up with dread.

"Who is the boy? Her husband?" she tried to tease, but the chuckles that escaped her throat were quiet and unconvincing. Mijai seemed to notice her discomfort and shifted his weight, moving ever so slightly further away from Sango.

"No, not her husband, her rescuer…" Mijai loosened up some then and snorted, whispering, "But I think the moment she wakens he shall propose to her to make him her husband!"

Sango tried to chuckle but it ended up being a very suspicious cough instead. _Oh Gods, this poor boy doesn't know that he's trying to compete with Inuyasha!_ Of course she doubted that it really mattered whether this Koshi knew about Inuyasha or not—it was whether Inuyasha knew of Koshi or not. She could only pray and pray that Miroku was able to keep the hanyou from leaving on a quest to exterminate the villagers until he had Kagome returned to his side safely…

At that moment she heard a familiar voice make itself known, a careful, soft noise came, the sound of someone clearing their throat before they speak of something delicate or nerve wracking. All eyes (except for Koshi because he was still obsessed with the unconscious but clearly still alive Kagome) in the room turned round to meet the purple and black robes and violet eyes of a certain lecherous monk named Miroku. Shisuki gaped at his clear handsomeness (to which Miroku was smirking right back at her, his right hand itching for a feel) while Mijai looked as if he might spring for the monk's throat for the man's violation of standard waiting and respect policies.

Sango, however, had the swiftest reaction…

"Houshi-sama!" she gasped, surprised and suddenly terrified to see him, "What manner of things brings you here so _soon?"_ she hinted, stepping just a little closer so that she could pull and pick at his collar and robes, silently intimidating him. He knew that she could pick him up—with one arm no less—and hurl him across the room if he did or said something bad in this delicate situation with the villagers.

He gulped nervously before answering, "Why Sango! I came for no other reason than to see your beautiful face!" he smiled, the expression was too sickly sweet for Sango to be fooled even in the slightest, and by the way Mijai was staring at them both—with open suspicion—she doubted that the healer really fell for it either. But the monk's first lie opened up his chance to tell the truth when he pulled her into a sudden embrace and pressed his lips to her ear, whispering what had really brought him swiftly. "Inuyasha is on the loose…"

Although his news made Sango feel acutely sick to her stomach, Miroku's warm, steamy breath, tickling her ear made Sango's tenseness melt abruptly and her body gave an involuntary shiver…which turned out to be a very good thing as far as passing off their lie went. Mijai took one look at that closeness and believed that the monk really was the demon slayer's boy toy. He looked away, not wanting to watch them if there should be anything more than what he took to be hugging and sensual whisperings. Shisuki, disappointed that the monk seemed to have no interest in her, sighed and looked to the small youkais that were hovering about Sango's feet, one at either side.

The kitsune was grinning up at her innocently and she smiled back down at him—he reminded her of her brother's dog. But just as she knelt down to begin petting the kit there was a screech from Sango and all in the room, even Koshi this time, looked to her, blinking. The demon slayer growled in her high, wavering voice and called out, "Hentai!" furiously, then came the inevitable ricocheting slap. Koshi cringed in sympathy for the purple-robed monk.

Mijai, however, was less sympathetic. "We have a sleeping girl here—" he snapped, glaring at them sharply, "Could you _please_ keep yourselves quiet! Otherwise I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Both Miroku and Sango nodded silently…and then Koshi jumped to attention beside "Sakana's" futon, pressing her hand to his face frantically. "She's coming to!" he announced, eagerly, eyes wide and gleaming.

Immediately Shippo jumped to Sango's shoulder, both the demon slayer and the monk pressed into the room, closer to the bed, Kilala trailed close behind. Shisuki hurried to sit beside Koshi at "Sakana's" side, and Mijai moved to take his traditional spot at the foot of the futon. The group waited anxiously for the girl to wake, anxiously, but patiently as she moaned and shifted her position, slowly beginning to flutter her eyelids, her brain turning itself on.

On her chest, still linked by its gold chain, the shards glittered and burned against her skin though none of them could see it…

Kagomeopened her eyes and blinked with difficulty. Her eyes hurt strangely, the vision wasn't right, it was blurry…she rose one hand and picked at some crusty bits in the corner on one eye and scowled in confusion and disgust. When she tried to pull the other hand up and use it to investigate her other eye she found, to her distress, that she couldn't move it…why was that? There was no pain…

Weakly she moaned and rolled in that direction—and came face-to-face with Koshi and Shisuki, who were grinning ecstatically—and expectantly—into her weary and confused face. They weren't familiar to her…

With a more powerful tug of her caught hand,Kagome pulled it free of Koshi's grip, groaning as she did. Who were these people? Why couldn't she think straight and—

Suddenly the pain hit her, straight in her forehead and temples, andKagome cried out, closing her eyes tightly. Her face wrinkled in pain.

"Oh Sakana! I'm here for you!" Koshi moved even closer to her then, reaching for her. He grasped her thin, small frame in his arms and managed to somehow get her cuddled in his arms without pulling her from the furs or invading her futon himself. Shisuki and Mijai watched the couple with soft, warm expressions, admiring Koshi's clear love for the girl…Sango and Miroku and Shippo looked at each other or the walls or the floor, anything but the couple. And each of them were thinking about what a horrible death Koshi was doomed for if Inuyasha found out—if he even simply saw the scene they were witnessing…

But to Kagome Koshi was a stifling presence, an inhibitor to her wellness. His arms around her, his foreign human male scent that she took in and unconsciously analyzed as unfamiliar, and his young and soft soothing voice were more than she could take in at the moment. Her mind raced, her senses reeled. What could she do to get him away from her? Instinct took over and she had the urge to simply bite him like an animal—but she wasn't strong enough, and the pain in her head was intense…she just wanted peace and quiet and…_someone_ else…she didn't know what but she knew that whatever, _whoever_ it was, she didn't have it yet…

In his arms Sakana screamed and struggled. Although her movements and sounds were weak Koshi looked stunned and terrified. He looked to Shisuki and Mijai in a panic. "She's gone mad!" he cried, and looked as if he might be sick at the thought of his own words.

Mijai, however, realized that she needed to be let alone and he reached out and grasped Koshi's arm tightly, squeezing. "Let her go Koshi—she needs to be left alone for now. Comfort can come later; trust me. For now speak to her from a distance, don't comfort her with an embrace yet…it's too much for her…"

Koshi nodded sternly and let Sakana go gently, arranging her carefully on her back on the futon still under the thick furs. The moment he was mostly parted from her Kagome stopped moving and her breathing began to normalize from her panic of moments before. Her eyes roved about the faces in the room, unfocused and unseeing. Her lips moved without sound, practicing it seemed, but it looked almost like she was chewing the air. But this strange behavior stopped a second later when she moaned and tried to turn away from them, trying to get a grip on the terrible pain in her head.

Koshi reached for her tenderly, brushing the hair from her forehead but Kagome reacted with surprising swiftness and coordination when she slapped his touch away with one hand and squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind was swamped; she was unable to sort out the strange things inside her. Thoughts, memories, feelings, they swirled uncontrollably in her mind.

The seconds passed and after a moment Koshi leaned close to her and whispered, softly, "Sakana, do you remember anything? Do you remember this room, the village…" he pursed his lips and asked one final question, "Do you remember me?"

The girl opened her eyes but didn't look to him and didn't turn toward him. After a moment she let loose with a deep sigh and whispered, in a cracking, weak, and barely audible voice, "I don't remember…"

Koshi sighed, noticeably saddened, and was about to speak again when Kagome finished her sentence, stopping everyone in the room abruptly, turning them to stone, "…you." She coughed once, weakly, and whispered the full sentence more firmly a second time, "I don't remember you."

Mijai patted Koshi on the shoulders and shook his head at the boy, "That means nothing," he counseled, "She just needs time…she probably doesn't remember anything at all!"

Hearing him, Kagome rolled slightly, her eyes closed again with the pain from even the dull light of the healer's room, "I remember…" her voice cracked and she was unable to finish the sentence. She looked as if she might drift off into sleep again.

Koshi knelt close to her and nudged her gently, trying to keep her awake long enough for her to answer him, "What do you remember, Sakana…?" he asked, breathlessly.

The room was silent as Kagome struggled against him for a moment breathing roughly. Then she coughed once, a little stronger than all the others before, and opened her weak, glazed eyes before speaking quietly and with surprising coherence, "I remember…somebody's waiting for me…" she let out a long, wheezy breath.

Koshi was smiling happily, looking to Mijai it was clear that he thought that Kagome was remembering _him_, but Sango, Miroku and Shippo each exchanged nervous glances, certain that Kagome was remembering someone else who wasn't currently in the room…

As if she'd heard their thoughts and apparently decided to confirm their suspicions Kagome moaned, recapturing everyone's attention, and announced in a breathy, raspy whisper: "I remember…_Inuyasha_…"

Koshi and Mijai and Shisuki each looked in confusion at one another and mouthed, "Inuyasha? Dog Spirit?" they looked to Sakana for clarification but she had reentered the world of sleep and didn't appear to be leaving it anytime soon.

Suspicion glinting in his eyes, Mijai looked toward the two youkai, the monk and the demon slayer, "Have _you_ got any idea what it means?"

All four of them shook their heads, feigning complete ignorance. "Inuyasha? Never heard of it!" "Inuyasha? Sounds like a joke to me!" "Who would want to waste their time remembering strange made up names like that anyway?"

The healer glared at them suddenly with new suspicion, "Who said that it was a _name?"_

Immediately the monk, demon slayer, and two youkais were faced with the three pairs of baffled or downright suspicious glares from the locals. There was no point in trying to cover their tracks now…why they'd all agreed to decline from mentioning their relationship with Kagome was beyond them—although it likely had something to do with the obvious closeness that Koshi felt for the girl he thought of as Sakana. It made each of the Shard-hunters feel miserable and uncomfortable at the thought of shooting down the other young man's dreams…if Inuyasha hadn't been the "Red Demon," they'd have easily fallen back on his lack of sympathy and possessive nature to reveal the truth…but now human thoughtfulness had turned into compassionate blunders.

In the end it was Miroku who sighed, lowering his eyes, and began to explain, "We know this girl…"

Mijai, Koshi, and Shisuki all stared stupidly, all of them rendered abruptly mute. They waited with incredible patience for Miroku to begin again, much to the Shard-hunting group's discomfort. The long, pregnant silence of the group drew out, longer and longer…until it was too heavy to sustain and Miroku finally broke down.

"Her name is Kagome. She is from the area around the Inuyasha Forest, that is what she speaks of." He lied, with surprising smoothness, which made Sango and Shippo glance at him in something close to astonishment. But this was quickly stifled when they realized that it was a _good_ lie, in fact, it was better than that—it was a _great_ lie…but Miroku's next words, although thoroughly shocking them, weren't necessarily quite as good.

"We are emissaries from her rich Grandfather in that area. We had been sent to retrieve herfrom the clutches oftheRed Demon whokidnapped her some weeks ago…" he swallowed nervously, violet eyes swiveling uncertainly around the room. _Did I just completely ruin Inuyasha all over again?_

Mijai and Shisuki were still analyzing this explanation when Koshi, his face taut with terrible emotional pain, muttered thickly, "Then this demon has been chasing her for some time?"

Without any other choice Miroku slowly nodded and after a pause gestured to Sango, adding, "Lady Sango is the residing demon slayer for Kagome's grandfather…" he paused for slight effect, "She was sent with me as an escort and these two youkai as trackers for the Red Demon. It is our duty to return the girl to her family and slay the demon that took her."

Mijai's eyes were still narrowed suspiciously on the Shard-hunters. "What is her family's name? And if all this is true, why didn't you say it from the beginning?" he growled, eyeing each of them in turn. Shippo shrank away, cowering, at his scrutiny. Miroku and Sango both ignored the whimpering sounds of the young youkai and answered the healer without hesitation.

"Her family is the Higurashi clan…" Sango revealed.

"And with all that has happened—and with the boy's clear affection for young Lady Kagome, we felt it best to simply watch over all, protectively." Miroku explained, forcing his expression to be calm and friendly. He also steadfastly ignored Koshi's sudden glaring at him.

"I am **no** boy, I am a man!" Koshi proclaimed, defending himself. His chest seemed to inflate up at least two sizes even as Miroku continued to ignore him, "And I am worthy of Sakana—er, Kagome's—affections! When she recovers and returns home with you, I shall accompany you to ask her grandfather and her clan's permission for our marriage."

Now Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala all gaped at him, their outward appearances stunned stupidly, their inner minds working like ant nests, panicked. Shippo was the first to speak, saying the very first thing that came to mind: "But Kagome isn't even awake yet! She hasn't even told you whether she would even _consider_ marrying you!"

Koshi seemed unaffected by such a point, "We are meant for each other—I can _feel _it!" he announced, and Shisuki and Mijai were staring at him with surprised, even awe-filled eyes.

"Koshi-sama!" Shisuki whispered, her face beaming, "Sakana…Kagome would never say no! I know _I _would wish for someone like you as _my_ husband!"

Koshi nodded to her respectively, his face ablaze with color, "Thank you, Shisuki…"

"You can't come with us…and Kagome could never marry _you!_" Sango blurted abruptly.

"Why not?" Mijai, Shisuki, and Koshi all demanded at the same time.

There was no answer from Sango, only her averted, frustrated gaze. _What will Inuyasha think of all this? By the time hegot through with Koshi the poor young man would be castrated for sure!_

Taking their lack of an answer as a positive thing, Koshi lifted his nose higher into the air in pride, "I'm going to follow her no matter what!" he turned and tenderly reached for her, stroking her face, brushing aside her hair, "I promise…" he whispered.

* * *

_He could see her pale, milk-colored flesh through the reeds. A thrill went through him when the curtain of her black hair shifted slightly, exposing the round fullness of one breast…like a ripe fruit waiting to be picked. He wanted to discard his own clothes and join her—but his limbs were rooted, strangely, to his spot. This was a spectator's sport…_

_And anyway, a small but powerful voice spoke up inside him, why should he risk going in there? What if she screamed and sat him? What if she didn't return his feelings for her? Was it even what they wanted? There were so many complications—yes, he was attracted to her, he wanted her, loved her scent, her smile, her beaming personality, but if he **did** go and do what his gut inner instincts told him to do his conscience knew that it would be, in the end, wrong. _

_**Damn that voice!**_

_He didn't want to listen to it but he did. It was right, his inner, wilder instincts were wrong…in fact; to be watching her while she bathed in the hot springs was a **terrible** invasion on her privacy! He was no better than the lecherous monk, grabbing a feel for the sake of his own perverse pleasures, whims, and needs. Such a thing was a terrible trait! He should be thinking of Kagome…_

_Yes, his Kagome! He tried to inhale her scent, tried to take it in, at the same time he thought he closed his eyes because the beautiful—but utterly wrong and guilt-ridden scene vanished from sight. The sounds of the river became clearer…wait, river? Hadn't Kagome been bathing in the hot springs? _

Confusion swept through him for a moment and suddenly Inuyasha opened his eyes…

Sunlight was reaching through the trees at a lower angle. Some hours had passed since his last waking memories. He hadn't realized—since fleeing the meadow that he'd shared with Miroku—that he'd been so tired. One moment he remembered leaping through the trees until he reached a spot that had a great view of the distant village across the powerful current of the river, the next he'd stopped to observe the scenery and tend to his still healing arrow wounds. Then he'd been asleep and dreaming…

_Yes, dreaming…_

And what a marvelous dream! He held the image a moment longer in his mind, savoring it. But that wondrous scene faded swiftly when he realized with a start that he hadn't planned on sleeping after attending his wounds…he'd lost a few hours to that unplanned nap!

Growling the hanyou flicked his ears. When had he become so sleep deprived? Kagome needed rescuing and he wasn't living up to his promise of saving her or protecting her…even if what she needed protecting from right now was her own stupid self…

With a weary, but annoyed look to the sun, Inuyasha decided that, come nightfall, he'd enter the village and search for Kagome…he prayed that she was there and not drowned in the river.

His heart constricted inside its cage of ribs at the thought of being without her, of thinking that she was dead again…of truly being alone. It was then that the images from his dream reappeared and Inuyasha sighed, reluctantly basking in them, although he knew that it was the wrong thing to think…it was weak! He couldn't allow his attraction to her, or his dreams about her become a foolish delusion.

With a shake of his head he looked again at the sun…thinking clearly: _Just a few more hours to go Kagome…wait for me would ya? I'm always ready to wait for you…_

_Please…**remember **me…_

_Endnote:_ Kay...to thank reiviewers and answer questions: THANK YOU!_Midori09, Taeniaea, cool-chick-rae, toxiclollipop, aly88, rena, freelke, spice lily, inuyasha'sbabe07,_ and_sveta8._ ThankALL reviewers!Over 150 reviews for this story, and I'm always surprised to see how many come in for it now...it started with so few! Now it outranks my other fic! (gasps at the confession!)_Tiamath_ Yes, but I think she won't use that handy little tool until later, she's foggy right now and IY, I think, would have enough sense not to go rushing in there without thought or caution, Miroku made a VERY good point last chapter about what the villagers will think if they find out she's "involved" with their red Demon,_Mad-4-Manga_ One of the other personalities is called ears? (blinks) can I ask why? (smirks) hehehe...and you used the word Uberously! (dies at your feet) So COOL, _fanfiction1_ HA! Those rivers will getcha if they can...as for your other comment, your thoughts have actually begun hatching schemes in my head...hehehe(evil laughter), _Flamesofthemo0n_ Hey! Choir! YAYS! Me too, _Unwary Hanyou_ wow! where'd THAT outburst come! wowhee! (chuckles) Namaru...hehe, if you already hate him now I think I'm going to make you hate him ALOT more by the end of this... _bumbleflies and butterbees_ hehe, yes, they kissed. I REALLY enjoyed writing that chapter...but I might've gotten too carried away with it (sheepish look) but I'm glad to hear that you liked it! _Pyrinsomniac_ (sniggles) it's that bad huh? Hehehe...GAH! (sniggles again) my Miroku says that (when I say he's Miroku I mean that he's a lech of course) (grins), _toots_ Sorry that she hasn't really done all that much, except surprise Koshi a little by saying she doesn't remember him, and then he turns right around and thinks that she does remember him...(sighs) what can I say, guys are dense sometimes! You know how it goes...(sniggles)

I must go now, that essay is still heavy on me and it's already getting later than I wanted it to be! AHH! I have 440-some words of a needed 750 Minimum (dies) must go...


	17. Inuyasha's Blunder

**Disc:** Don't own 'em...but the quote IS MINE!

**A/N:** Okay, this is hard b/c I have a friend of mine (who I play cat and mouse with, he's my Miroku (snickers)) who's IMing me at the same time b/c he's bored...and I mean REALLY bored, he put my name into the Google search engine just to see what'd pop up...and then IMed me the results...Okay, Namaru is here in this one, shows us hisparticulary ugly grosscolors (wonder if I have to up the rating for it...hmm...probably...(sighs)) Kagome is still weak (next chapter she's fully recovered mentally.) Inuyasha's visit feels strange to me, but I think it's okay...I'm nervous about this ending, not sure how to do it...(sighs) oh well...here it is...I trust you guys will review to tell me if I did well? THANK YOU!

**

* * *

****Inuyasha's Blunder**

"_And then the darkness lifts_

_The sunshine fills my heart_

_And you are there beside me…"_

* * *

The darkness was thick and oppressive; the girl woke to it feeling as if she were being strangled in her sleep. Between the gasps of panic and abrupt claustrophobia that had overwhelmed her she moaned, searching for something, for comfort, for another's touch…confusion and longing swept through her at once.

Her distress was answered gently, sweetly. She felt a hand grasp hers, strong but at once soft. Warm breath tickled her ears. The voice that spoke was masculine but so gentle that she would've blinked in confusion had she had all of her wits about her.

"Sakana…are you all right? Bad dreams?" she sensed the other drawing nearer, struggled to understand deep within her whether that was something she wanted or not… "Don't worry any longer—you're safe, the Red Demon can't get you while I'm here." She felt the heat of his skin against her damp, feverish cheek, took in the calm, almost chalky odor he had about him.

It wasn't familiar.

She turned away, moaning, drawing once more inward. The shards at her chest seemed to freeze her skin now, like icicles digging into her flesh. Yet, despite the discomfort, she didn't force their touch away like she had the other person's touch. The shards, she instinctively understood, were all that had kept her alive, all that had protected her from death's freezing grip. And now, still, they hadn't left her to fend for herself. They seemed to keep her strong, seemed to _heal_ her fragile body and mind. The shards kept her tied to reality.

The freezing, biting cold of the shards vanished then and the girl felt a strange, sickening sweat break out over her entire body. She flinched and cringed against it, suddenly feeling ridiculously hot and restless…

She opened her eyes in the dark, her teeth clenching down on her tongue, biting back the sounds she wanted to scream, afraid of what would happen to her if she did…the words were things in her dreams and her memories. Mysterious things that she innately knew were important to her past self. Words like _Inuyasha, Sango, Shippo, Kilala, Shikon Jewel…Naraku, Kohaku, Sesshomaru, Souta, _and _Kagura._ And yet she hardly comprehended what they meant at all, and something whispered to her that she must feign more weakness than she actually felt, silencing those words…those _names_.

At least for now…but _how_ log would that be?

Despite herself another moan escaped her and she sat up, pawing at her throat convulsively as if she might be able to physically intimidate the words, names, and memories that lurked within her, trying to burst out. In the dark her eyes worked only weakly, not as they really should at all, not as they had when she was well, she recalled dimly. Yet even so she saw someone move swiftly to her and a second person—already crouched at her side—move to embrace her.

"Sakana, is everything all ri—" his arms slid around her body and she sensed his foreignness again and reacted on instinct. Hissing, she pushed and slapped weakly at him. His touch withdrew, and she sensed that he hesitated now, confused. Had she been in her right mind she would've easily understood that he was deeply hurt by her rejection. But it was too dark for her to see his features and even if it had been light she wouldn't have been able to care about him…

The other person moved to hold her instead, and she tensed, ready to push them away as well—and realized with a jolt that this wasn't a stranger after all!

"Kagome…" the soft, gentle voice whispered in her ear, warm breath sweet and calming. She shivered, her tension and anxiety melting away like butter on a hot skillet. Exhaustedly, and filled with relief, she slumped into the other woman's arms.

Unbidden one of the names that she had thought of only a short time ago sprung to her lips again, and straight out without her thinking about it: "Sango."

The demon slayer nodded against her head, shushing and comforting her gently. "It's all right, Kagome…" she looked to Koshi nervously through the dark, praying that he couldn't see the fear in her face. Kagome's skin was hot and clammy against her own; the girl was shivering weakly. But it wasn't Kagome's illness and delirious state that bothered her; it was a question that'd been hovering heavily in her mind for hours now, _where is Inuyasha? What is he up to?_

Miroku was out searching for the hanyou along the river, where he was sure that Inuyasha would be lurking, looking for Kagome's scent. The monk had taken Kilala and Shippo with him as trackers. She hadn't heard from him in several hours, and could only hope that that meant they'd found and restrained the hanyou…but somehow she doubted it. Her instincts said that the only way they'd ever _really_ stop Inuyasha from coming for Kagome was if Miroku sucked him up into his wind tunnel. Even then Sango wondered if perhaps Inuyasha might crawl right back out again, though that was impossible…

Kagome stirred against her, moving closer, wrapping her arms around the slayer's waist. Apparently the schoolgirl was well enough—and mentally intact enough—to know that Sango was a friend. This was comforting—if, or rather, _when_ Inuyasha came, she might remember how to subdue him.

Koshi reached through the darkness and touched her elbow, drawing her attention to him, or rather, to what little she could see of him in the dim light. His eyes were shining and moist. "Um, Lady Sango," he murmured, suddenly timid, likely because of Kagome's instinctual rejection of him and acceptance of Sango, "I'm going to rejoin the samurais for now…my absence has likely been noticed by now…you'll be all right with Saka—I mean, Lady Kagome?"

She nodded, "Yes, and Koshi," she tried to smile at him although she doubted that he could see it, "Get some sleep, would you?"

He moved through the room, his shape vaguely clear in the dark, but only because it was moving. When she was sure he was gone, Sango pushed Kagome's face from where it rested on her shoulder and felt the girl's face, running her thumbs over her lips gently, her index fingers over her closed eyes.

"Kagome?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Sango?" Kagome muttered, trying to pull away from her grip, from her probing touch, "What?" Sango felt the girl's eyebrows lower, clenching in her forehead; she was frowning.

"Are you all right? Are you in pain?" she asked, gently but with urgency.

"It…" she whimpered weakly, "My head hurts…"

Sango nodded even though she knew by touch that Kagome's eyes were still closed, "Do you remember everything…?" she asked, tightly.

"What?" it was murmured in pain, and Sango sighed realizing that this wouldn't get her very far. Kagome was confused and in pain, and the question she'd asked was far too vague for anyone to answer, let alone a weak, feverish and confused girl like the one she was holding upright.

"Do you remember me? Do you remember Miroku? Do you remember Shippo and Kilala? And…what about Inuyasha…do you remember how to sit him?"

Sango felt the girl turn her head, and she removed the probing fingers from her face, watching as Kagome opened her eyes, they shone with surprising brightness, despite her illness. The shine moved and Sango could tell her friend from the future was focusing on her now, concentrating.

"I remember…" she paused her breathing steady but slow and rough with her pain, "…the mountains. I remember a giant pig attacking us…" the girl cried out then, suddenly shivering in Sango's arms, weeping.

"What is it? What is it Kagome, are you all right? Do you want me to lie you down?" Sango stroked her hair, messy and tangled as it was, trying to comfort her friend, and after a moment it worked. Kagome stopped shivering and her breathing straightened out slightly, but it remained heavy and pained. Eventually she must've found the strength to answer Sango, but instead of answer the questions that had been thrown at her while she'd been so distressed she answered the question of much earlier.

"I remember falling…falling into the cold…" _it was dark then too…_ her mind started trying to panic, looking for a way to escape, reeling. She gasped as if for air, "Is there light!" she pleaded, clutching Sango's arms desperately.

"I—" but Sango didn't wait long enough to finish her own sentence. Instead she laid Kagome down and moved, searching by touch around the room until she found what she was looking for: a candle. Grasping it firmly she walked out of the dark room where Kagome was resting, breathing harshly, into the outer room where Mijai was sleeping, snoring loudly, and out the door. The fire outside made an excellent, if not massive match by which she lit the candle…

As she stood up her gaze landed on the gates to the village, closed tightly. Miroku had flown over them using Kilala. His departure had created quite a ruckus. The dogs a few of the villagers kept had barked and yapped at the nekoyoukai as she'd passed overhead. Now she wished that the gates were transparent so that she might just catch a glimpse of what was happening—if anything—down at the river…

A flash of movement and light attracted her attention then and she looked toward the walls beside the gate, suddenly noticing that there was a form there, a shape. It was blacker than the rest of the wall, blacker than the spaces between the stars at night. The light didn't even shine off the eyes of this form…

For a moment her heart constricted and she stared, stunned, and realizing that she had changed back into her non-threatening green and purple robes and hiraikotsu was inside, leaning against the wall near Kagome's futon. She was weaponless…but what could this thing be? Or rather, _who?_ She was certain it wasn't Inuyasha. The hanyou wasn't nearly as bulky, and she saw no flowing length of hair…

The realization hit her suddenly, and she cursed herself inwardly as the figure started to walk forward. _Why did I stare so rudely for so long!_ Armor clanked metallically. The footsteps were loud, threatening, and incautious. In a moment the wide, looming figure had reached the circle of illuminating light from the fire, and she saw clearly that her gut had been right all along—it _was_ one of the samurais.

She recognized that this one was called Namaru. She'd seen his huge frame and the squinty-eyed arrogant sneer that was permanently etched in his ugly face when she'd first come to visit Mijai and see Kagome. From the moment she'd first seen him lounging about like a slug, but a dangerous one at any rate, she'd known that she wouldn't forget that ugly face easily. And here she was wishing that she _could_ forget, because he was just so unfortunate looking that she wanted to stare and stare…and now she was likely to pay for it.

"Hey bitch!" he growled, and she realized with something between horror and relief that he was drunk…if he was drunk his balance and aim would all be off, making him easier to escape or to fight. But being drunk also made him vicious and wildly unpredictable. She was caught, frozen, and unsure what to do…

"Ya whore, waddaya starin' at?" the armor clanked, he'd reached the fire and, swaying dangerously, put out his arms, warming his hands. "I could make ya warm as da fire if ya would jus' come an' keep me comp'ny by da wall…" he slurred and growled suggestively, and even from so far away Sango could smell his stench, stale beer and vomit. She scowled and turned without a word to walk back into Mijai's healing hut, hoping that in his drunken stupor the samurai wouldn't really care one way or another…but he did.

"Ya whore! Where ya goin' off ta? I din't say ya could go!" she felt and heard his clumsy, thudding footsteps coming behind her with surprising speed. The candle she was still holding in her hand shook, the flame flickering with the movement. _Should I just keep going, or should I kick his balls now?_

But her thoughts came too late—a hand landed on her shoulder just as she reached Mijai's doorway, jerked her backward. Her balance tottered dangerously. Sango squeaked with fear, only to have a big, stinky, meaty hand clamp itself over her lips. The candle in her hands was forgotten, dropped to the ground in a flicker of light and flame.

Sick, hot, and rotten breath reached her ear, and Sango's stomach clenched with desperate nausea at it, "I'm gonna make ya scream bitch!" he cackled.

Sango let her training take over. One fist shot backward to the source of the breath on her ear and connected straight with his nose, slimy against her smooth skin. Despite her inward cringing at that, and the spurt of hot blood she felt land on her from his nose, Sango whirled as the drunk let go of her to clutch his nose. Her leg came up and hit him squarely in the side of his big; ugly block head.

Namaru stumbled backward, cursing under his breath in barely comprehensible speech. When he looked up from the dribbling blood of his nose to see Sango, crouched and ready anew for the fight to continue, rage awoke in his eyes. A mere woman attack and _win_ a fist fight with a _samurai!_ It was unheard of…had he seen her in the light, and without the alcohol in his blood, obscuring the truth, he might've recognized her as the black body-suited, pink-armored demon slayer. _Then_ he'd have remembered that demon slayers were always especially dangerous foe—some whispered that they were slightly more than human themselves. What else could specialize in killing demons after all? But Namaru didn't see that, he saw a _woman_, and women weren't supposed to act as this one did…

He lunged for her, growling like an animal, and Sango tensed, ready to dodge the rushing attack and drop to trip him instead…but a blur of motion caught the samurai before he reached her, startling Sango into falling against Mijai's hut. Blinking she looked toward the wall where she'd first noticed Namaru and saw a second black shape, heard gasping noises, grunts and growls of struggle…then the larger, bulkier form fell to the ground in a slump. Namaru had been eliminated, whether dead or unconscious Sango couldn't know…but one thing she _did _know was that the new attacker was this village's dreaded enemy known as the Red Demon.

Sure enough, just as she'd thought, the slimmer, lithe, long-haired form that'd brought down Namaru turned back toward her and she saw the flashing of feral, utterly wild gold-colored eyes. It _was_ Inuyasha. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked around, trying to make sure that they were alone…no sounds stirred, only the wind and the fire, crackling steadily.

And then: "I didn't kill him, Sango."

She frowned, "If you had I don't honestly think anyone would've minded."

"That's what I keep trying to tell you about the other ones…" came the answering growl. The hanyou's shadowy form ducked to all fours. She could almost make out the swiveling of his ears…_almost._

"Some of those were good men, Koshi—" she stopped herself, uncertain of whether it was wise to tell the hanyou about the boy yet, "I was told that some of those that you _did_ kill were good, kind-hearted men…they are missed."

She thought that maybe his ears turned backward. "Feh." After a pause, through which she wished she could see his expression, Inuyasha looked back at her, she caught the sharp movement of his head, and announced, "I'm going to check in on Kagome…"

She suspected that he was looking for her to challenge him, but what could she do? If they fought with one another it'd attract attention, it'd wake up the villagers…but what if Mijai walked into the room while Inuyasha was there? Had the noise woken him up?

She turned and looked into the hut to see the plump, round, happy little healer still snoring peacefully. Relieved she turned back to face Inuyasha only to gasp as she realized that Inuyasha was now right beside her, his face, ears, and clothing all illuminated and revealed by the light of the fire.

"I'm going in there, Sango." He muttered, tense.

"I know I can't stop you…" he nodded at her, his lips tightened, and started to step past her, only to pause as Sango's hand caught his forearm, redirecting his attention to her face.

"What?"

"She's sick, Inuyasha…she's weak. Don't stress her…and she might not remember you still…"

"I know that, stupid!" Inuyasha jerked his arm from her grasp, scowling.

"And—Inuyasha—_don't you dare get caught with her…_"

He blinked, ears swiveling, "What are you talking about?" he growled.

"I mean that if the healer wakes up, if you hear someone coming—you have to leave _immediately…_do you understand?"

"I'll do whatever the hell I want!" he snarled, trying to push past her, but she caught him again.

"Just say that you will Inuyasha. She's still sick, she needs rest and treatment…"

"I'll treat her, Kaede will treat her, hell, I'd even rather have her go through the well if it'd get her away from these stupid people!" his voice was rising and Sango shushed him worriedly, glancing around fearfully. Inuyasha wasn't so cautious, his senses were far more acute, and he was sure that no one was coming, "Stop it Sango, there's no one coming, and that old guy inside that's snoring isn't about to wake up—he stinks like drool."

Sango sighed and let go of his arm, nodding that he should go in. Inuyasha ducked through the opening, walking with no particular stealth across Mijai's outer room, but the moment he reached Kagome's doorway his feet slowed, and then stopped. He could hear her breathing, smell her scent, and with his eyes he easily saw her form, crumpled and thin through the furs.

His ears turned backward. _Gods, I hate when she's sick…I hate that scent marring her…I wish I could make her stronger…_ the inuyoukai's instinct to protect battled with his higher senses, demanding action on his part. Would she accept him if he joined her in the futon, shared her body heat? Was she cold? Taking a breath he could smell the stress hormones in her scent that signified pain, and he almost growled, as if he could frighten her physical ailments away.

Fists clenched with sudden determination, he strode over to her futon, knelt as close as he could, and whispered, gently, "Kagome..?"

She moaned and he saw her move, trying to roll towards him. Instinctively he reached for her cheek, feeling her skin timidly. Clammy and chilled…had Sango said she'd had a fever? He could smell the elements of a fever but her skin was cold, not hot…it must've broken and now she was cold, her body exhausted from having worked to keep her temperature elevated.

The girl, in the midst of her furs, took in this new male's scent without thinking, and recognized it. A new and sudden comfort reached her through the fog of her mind…she wanted this new, familiar, friendly, and powerful presence closer to her. She moaned again and reached one hand for his shadowy form above her. Her hand closed around surprisingly soft hair that she sensed somehow was an inhuman color of silver.

Inuyasha took her signals and immediately moved to help, moving cautiously into the depths of the futon, shifting the weak girl and the furs until she was lying with her back against him, shivering. He tried to ignore the hidden, but still powerful scent that she wore, which drove him crazy, that he'd missed _so_ much… his heart fought him for a moment, clenching in pain. How many times had he failed her? How many times had he nearly lost her? Instinctually he nuzzled into her neck, taking in the scent where it seemed the strongest, ignoring the scent of the river that lingered in her hair. Her ear was close to him here too…he debated letting her simply sleep against him, or speaking out a few of his thoughts…

Worriedly he lifted his head slightly, ears swinging this way and that, seeking Sango's presence. He scented her lingering presence in the room, but she hadn't followed him in, apparently she was standing watch and trusting Inuyasha to escape by his own means if someone else came…

He faintly noted several other scents hanging about the room: the healer's, Miroku's, Shippo's, Kilala's, some young girl…and…he frowned. A boy, or rather, a young man. He could easily pick out the testosterone levels that lingered in it, revealing that the youth was mature enough to likely father pups but immature enough that no bitch would take him as a mate…alarm touched him when he noticed that this _boy's_ scent lingered over Kagome's face…the boy had _touched_ _her_…

But no matter, as much as the thought made him bristle, Inuyasha pushed it away, focusing on Kagome instead. He knew she was dozing and still very weak, but in spite of that he knew she was recovering fast. The fever was gone, though it had left her exhausted, and he could scent that she was hungry and thirsty…could he escape with her tonight? Round the others up and steal away into the dark of the night, Kagome clinging to his back?

He frowned, realizing that she was likely still too fragile.

Protectively, possessively, he snuggled closer; nuzzling her neck once more to be rewarded with her scent…he was something like an addict for it now that he'd nearly lost her.

"Kagome?" he whispered, right behind her ear. The girl shifted slightly in his arms, acknowledging his words, telling him that she really was still awake, even though her breathing and heartbeat revealed that to him easily enough, "Do you…" he paused, fear suddenly, against his better judgment, blossoming inside his gut, "Do you remember me?"

She made a small noise, it could've been anything, "Yes," "No," or even as stupid as, "Maybe." Frustrated, but knowing that she was likely too weak to comprehend, he leaned close again, "What did you say?" he chuckled nervously, "Are you a fish or are you Kagome…?"

"Kagome…" that time he heard her answer clearly, and after a moment, much to his surprise, the girl fumbled through the furs, reached one of his hands where they rested on her shoulders, and squeezed weakly.

Surrendering to her touch, her scent, and her fatigue, Inuyasha closed his eyes and sighed. "Is it all right with you, wench, if I just stay and keep you warm a while?" he smiled against the smooth flesh on the back of her neck.

"Not a wench…" she muttered, "But stay…"

He nodded, making sure she could feel his slow, gentle movements. "Then I will…" but just as he'd closed his, relishing the quiet peace he and Kagome were getting to share, he heard Sango fairly shout, "Koshi! Well, good to see you coming to check in on Kagome!"

It wasn't hard for him to realize that she was signaling him to leave…he'd be lucky if she didn't wake the healer too with her loud, obnoxious, woman warrior's voice. He sighed, breathing against Kagome's neck, smiling warmly when he noticed that she shivered slightly, and not, he scented, because she was cold anymore.

"I gotta go Kagome…"

She moaned and he felt her grip on his hand tighten, but he pulled his own away, sighing regretfully. "I'll come back for you tomorrow night…" he whispered in her ear, hesitating as another thought occurred to him: _would she remember any of this? Would she be different tomorrow night? _He didn't have time to contemplate any longer, he heard Sango and the other person, named Koshi, jabbering loudly, the snores from the healer had quieted, Inuyasha suspected that he was waking…and Sango sounded as if she were fast running out of excuses and stall tactics.

Inuyasha rose hurriedly, but gently, from the furs and the futon. Kagome moaned when he left, and he saw the shine of her eyes on him, following his movements as he worked to tuck the furs close to her before he left…one ear swiveled toward the doorway, hearing footsteps, scenting the air…_it's **him…**_

Suddenly growling Inuyasha whirled away from Kagome and moved to the foot of her futon to stand at one side of the doorway, his body taut, his muscles contracted like springs, ready to pounce and snap the boy's scrawny little neck…there was _no_ way that such a little pup could lay hands on _his_ Kagome!

"Koshi, please come and look at Namaru with me, I saw him pass out earlier when I came out for air, and I didn't have the courage to look for myself but—" Sango's voice droned on tightly, desperately.

Koshi's answered, and Inuyasha had to restrain his growl at how _young_ it sounded, a light, melodious thing. It wasn't a strong, deep; proud voice like a man should have…it wasn't worthy of challenging Inuyasha's hold on Kagome, his object of desire…

"Lady Sango! You _left_ Kagome alone?"

Mijai had awoken and stuttered in a sleepy snarl, "What's going on here! Koshi, demon slayer…?"

"Nothing Mijai-sama." Sango answered, passively.

"I hardly think leaving _your_ charge alone is _nothing!_" Koshi shouted, he was _so close_ to the door that Inuyasha could almost feel his body heat through the thin walls, "I mean, while you were away the Red Demon could've snuck in and—" at that moment he crossed the threshold into the soothing darkness of Kagome's sleeping room and the thing of his nightmares pounced, pinning him against the wall.

Koshi screamed.

Mijai stared.

Sango covered her face in her hands and tried to fight back the urge that nearly overwhelmed her to go and throw up. _This is **awful!**_

"Listen to me you little pup," Inuyasha snarled, ears turned backward, fangs bared in sparkling white brilliance, eyes alight with an inner fire of rage and an inuyoukai's obsessive, blind protective instinct, "You stay the _hell_ away from my Kagome…do you understand me, _pup_?"

Pinned above him Koshi could only gawk in terror, praying for rescue or release by death, whichever came first…and then Inuyasha dropped him and charged toward the door, bowling the round Mijai _and_ Sango over as he went. And then he was gone, as if he was nothing more than a dream…

But the marks on Koshi's neck were _far _from dreams…and as he tried to stand with Sango and Mijai's help, he forced his young body to cease its nervous shivering. _I'll kill that demon before the end, I swear it, a creature as terrible as that deserves to burn in the depths of hell for all eternity…_ the sneer that he turned toward Mijai's doorway was like nothing that had ever bloomed over the boy's face before, and both the healer and the demon slayer were stunned to see it.

"Are you all right, Koshi?" Mijai asked, still panting over the experience.

"Yes," he frowned, his eyes were still dark and hard, gleaming with hatred, "But I don't matter. The only thing that does is killing that damn monster…"

Sango felt as if she'd be sick all over again. _Inuyasha you **idiot!**_

Endnote: I'm only going to answer questions this time, SO many reviewed (or maybe I'm confusing them, GAH! I don't know) that in order to get this posted, b/c I AM late, I'm doing a short cut, that and I've got my dear buddy MYMiroku IMing me at the same time...so here goes: _MadMood_ which names? The ones in this story? Let's see, Mijai I made up as well as Shisuki, but Namaru is a combination of words (Na from Naraku and Maru from Sesshomaru), and Koshi is a REAL name, means something like "Knows his own mind." Sakana I chose from a lineup of water related Japanese words...hmm...a lot of others I made up (and someone who knows far more about Japanese than I do told me they could tell(sheepish look)... _Pyrinsomniac_ wow! On Shisuki and Koshi:You're one of fewwho caught that...and thank you for commenting about my description (beams proudly)...I had thought to do that with those two...but I think I edited out the more obvious thoughts before posting it. So it's still in debate..._Lena17_I'm SO sorry! Sorry! My email is cluttered and I'm stupid, do you forgive me? (sniffles)

Gotta go, MY Miroku just found someone on Google with his same name that looks a little like him...I have to go take up a position saying he IS related to her b/c he's saying he isn't and if he ever gets near her chances are they'll slink off to a corner and do something bad...and by the look of this girl she's even worse than HE is! gotta go! See ya!


	18. No Longer Dreaming

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own IY, or the quote. In case anyone's curious this chapter's quote is from Matchbox 20's song called "Black and White People." I think...

**A/N:** This chapter's quote may more accurately describe the chapter after this one called "Possibilities Infinite." Though I may yet change the title becuase I don't much like it...becuase it's next chapter that Kagome gets it through Koshi's thick skull that she doesn't like him like he likes her. Phew! how many "likes" did I use in that one sentence? (blinks!) Okay...SPECIAL THANKS to **_cool-chick-rae_** who not only was, I think, the first to review last chapter, but she also rushed into a climatic description of an ending that just left me going, "Well...why didn't I think of that?" For some reason I hadn't thought doing an ending like she suggested was possible, but when I read through it I realized that it IS, in fact, the ONLY way to do this story's ending! So I owe her the ending, which is (or at least can be) the most stunning part of a story, IF done correctly. So far I feel confident about it. I think that I am on, as I type this, the last chapter, not counting a possible epilogue. So my prediction, if this is Chapter 18 then "Somebody" should reach 21 or 22 chapters...and then it's over...(sniffles)...Anyway, thank you Cool Chick! This one's for you! and NO! You're never annoying!

I think everyone will like this chapter, it's quite humorous. I have a running gag that's lasted two (and likely more, straight until the end) chapters...I think that after this chapter you'll already know the gag, so I won't tell you now...just read...(grins)

**

* * *

**

**No Longer Dreaming**

"…_It's getting so damn creepy_

_Just nursing this _

_Ghost of a chance_

_The fiction, the romance_

_And the Technicolor dreams_

_Of black and white people."_

* * *

Kagome woke slowly, in gentle degrees. First she felt the furs around her body, then the scents of the room assaulted her nose, pungent and powerful, but otherwise unrecognizable to her mind in her sleepy state. Eventually the sounds—small rustlings, her own deep breathing alongside another's and distant voices elsewhere—reached her as well. Lastly she took a deep breath, a solid inhalation, and opened her eyes, blinking unsteadily. 

She saw a ceiling directly above her, thatched, primitive…_Obviously I'm not home with Gramps, Mom and Souta…_ at her shoulder she suddenly felt a slight burning sensation, a tingle…one hand rose to the spot, probing. Her fingers met a hard, solid thing there, and when she jarred the object it rattled.

Digging through the collar on the clothes she was wearing—they were strange too, where was her school uniform?—she grabbed hold of the thing and pulled it up and out, held it dangling from its delicate chain in front of her face. It was a tiny jar-like glass trinket, sealed shut, and inside three purple gems glittered. It'd been this thing that had felt so strangely warm against her skin…for a moment her mind remained blank, wondering why she had them and how? Were they a gift? Was it an heirloom? No, she'd remember _that…_

Then it hit her and she almost laughed at her absurdity. _What's wrong with me! I didn't even realize that these are the Shikon Jewel shards! Sometimes the others should just shoot me I'm so dense…_

She slid the shards back under her shirt—or whatever the clothes were that she was wearing.

Confusedly she rolled onto her side and immediately saw a cute, but scruffy-looking boy about her age, crashed out on the furs at the edge of her futon…_furs? Where'd my sheets go, my sleeping bag? My backpack…?_

She searched the room for a familiar face or form, the redheaded kitsune child, the tiny yellow and black neko-youkai, the purple-robed monk, the lean, heavily muscled demon slayer, and the red-robed silver-haired half demon…her heart sped up as she realized that she was _alone…_

Where are my friends? Where'd Sango go…wasn't she here earlier? I thought she was—and Inuyasha? I never thought he'd abandon me…

She looked once more to the sleeping boy. He appeared exhausted. There were rings of fatigue around his eyes. On his exposed neck she saw four red lines mottling the skin there…almost like the grip of fingers, so tight that it'd left bruising, almost as if he'd been strangled…shrugging her first impression away, she hesitantly brought one hand out, questing, to touch his shoulder and shook a little.

"Um…hello…?"

The boy sprung awake, straight to his feet, eyes wide and searching, a strange, intense look that she couldn't analyze burning in the gleam of his eyes. Kagome cringed with his sudden waking, instinctually afraid. The boy looked at long last to her and his gaze immediately softened. Now his eyes glimmered with a whole new range of emotion, concern, worry, care…even something that made her shiver and look quickly away. It was the look Inuyasha gave her when he was afraid that something had happened to her, or when she'd kissed him once to save him from Kaguya's magic that'd stolen his human side from him…

"Sakana!" he cried, and grabbed her by the shoulders, frenzied, _really_ happy to see her awake. "You're up! I worried about you! The Red Demon came and nearly got you last night!" his face and eyes were grave at the thought, "But you're well! I can't believe it!" he tried to pull her into a gleeful hug but Kagome raised a hand between them swiftly, stopping him short.

"What is it, Sakana, what's wrong?" he looked so innocent and completely, genuinely, confused. She hated having to disappoint him but looking at him brought nothing into her mind at all, nothing…

"I don't think we've met…" _why in the seven hells was he calling me **Fish**?_ "Hi, my name's Kagome…" she thrust out her hand and offered him a small, timid smile.

The scraggly boy looked as if she'd stricken him, not introduced herself. "Oh no, Sakana," he shook his head as if in denial, "…you don't remember me…?"

"If I did," Kagome swallowed nervously, "Would I understand why you're calling me 'fish'?" she chuckled once and then stopped when she noted that this quite emotional guy looked almost as if he might cry…panic laced the edges of her mind and she searched the room another time, still hoping to see someone she did recognize. _I gotta get outta here!_

"You were found in the river…" he whispered, not looking directly at her, even as she met his gaze again, curiously, "So they called you fish and never expected you to survive…" he turned, taking a deep breath as he forced himself to look her in the eye, "But you did survive and I fell in love with you…" Kagome felt abruptly as if she wanted to get out of the futon, get out of the room, NOW, with the same desperation someone with the stomach flu feels when they're about to vomit…but she couldn't so instead she meekly continued to smile, like a zombie, pretending to understand and listen when in reality all she wanted to do was bolt. Who is this kid!

"So Sakana, um, I mean, Kagome…" he reached for her hand and too late she tried to flinch and pull away…he only got one of her hands and not both as he wished, but one was enough… "Would you marry me? Could you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he stuttered desperately onward, pleading his case pathetically, "I know I am not worthy of such a fine woman's love and title as yours, I am dirt on your shoes, my lady, but…" his words seemed to fail him and Kagome was relieved, glad that he'd stopped—she'd just been feeling rather queasy with it all—except that that meant she had to answer…

"Um…" she laughed nervously, "I don't even know your name…"

He looked stricken all over again, but recovered fast enough, pressing onward. _Gosh, he's ten times as bad as Hojo!_

"My name is Koshi." He bowed to her briefly, "I came here with the samurais at the same time that you were recovering the first time and met you." He swallowed, barely wrangling in his emotions, "Oh Sakana! I thought I'd lost you!" he enveloped her in his arms, squeezing her to him in desperation.

She could feel his body shivering, shaking against hers, and Kagome quaked as well then, but not because she reciprocated anything—simply because he was close to frightening her. How was she supposed to get him to stop this? Was anything that he was saying true? Where were her friends…?

Suddenly Koshi pushed back from her, his eyes shimmering with emotion as he gripped her cheeks, andpulled her into a kiss. Kagome's eyes sprang wide with shock. She couldn't believe what was happening here! She could feel the moisture of this boy's lips against her own, the warmth…and who knew what kind of diseases he had! She had hardly even met him and he was…he was…_worse_ than Miroku!

Her face blushed bright red and suddenly Kagome pushed the boy away and slapped him right across the face.

Koshi stared at her, confusion in his eyes. "What-why—Sakana?" he looked so pitiful that Kagome almost hit him again, wishing that he would react with outrage—as likely, Inuyasha would if something like this were to happenbetween them. That brought on yet another blush. _Inuyasha and me? Oh Gods, I really must be sick to think that…_

"Look Kisho—" she started to the boy's widened, stunned eyes, one hand was stillon his cheek holding the afflicted place she'd slapped, "Kishi, or…" she frowned, realizing that none of those names were right. "Whatever your name is…" she pointed one finger at him, despite how rude she knew it was, "Don't kiss me! I don't even know who you are!"

The boy nodded, slowly, reluctantly, still sad as a scolded puppy. "I thought you would remember for sure, Sakana…"

"And my name is not Fish," Kagome intoned, crossing her arms and scowling, "It's—"

"Kagome, I know." He sighed, "Your grandfather's servants told me that."

"What? My _grandfather's servants?"_ she asked, stunned.

Koshi nodded at her, blinking his confusion, but pushing it aside, knowing that if she didn't remember him she could likely forget anything else that she should be remembering, "The servants—the lady demon slayer, the monk that likes to touch her rudely, and the two little youkais."

She blinked at him, stupidly, until finally it reached her, through a fog: _He's describing my friends…_

"Oh! Yes," she nodded slightly, and regretted it when a little pain shot through her head. Tentatively she reached to the spot that hurt and pressed, "Ow!"

"Oh, Sakana, be careful!" he reached for her hands, pulling them away from her forehead clasped in his. Kagome took one look at that and ripped them away, stubbornly ignoring Koshi's pained expression. "You shouldn't touch your forehead, it's terribly bruised…" he whispered quietly, looking sadly at his lonely hands in his lap.

Kagome hadn't noticed, or refused to at any rate, his mourning of their loss of touch, and instead had begun inspecting herself. Lifting one arm she tried to discreetly smell her underarms and grimaced. "Uh…Kishi?"

The boy frowned and corrected her, "Koshi."

"Yea, Koshi," she blushed and tried to spit her words out as bluntly and without emotion as she could, "I really need a place to bathe…it'd make me feel a lot better…" she looked up, letting her voice fade, her thoughts not entirely finished, when she heard two voices that sent thrills of relief through her. A smile broke over her face, even though it sent small rivulets of pain up into her skull when the muscles were worked.

"You HENTAI!" came a woman's voice, Sango's without a doubt, the last word was snarled in outrage, "HOW could you leave Kagome alone in there while you wandered around the village finding little girls and married women to flirt with! When will you learn that none of them, _not a single one_, wants to bear _your_ child? Half of them can hardly bear looking at your face alone!"

"But my Sango—" it was Miroku's voice, but he didn't have a chance to argue his own point before Sango shushed him, her voice hissing in rage.

"Some friend you are to Kagome! I stayed with her all night and where were you!"

"Not where I wanted to be, I can assure you of that." Came Miroku's response, heavily suggestive. Apparently he must've done something physically offensive as well, because a moment later Sango squeaked in shock and there was a resounding slap.

"HENTAI!" Sango screamed again, this time much closer to Kagome's room, and a second later the schoolgirl's eyes lit up at the sight of the demon slayer clomping into the room, a scowl on her face, until she stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Kagome.

"Kagome…?" she breathed the girl's name hesitantly, as if speaking any louder might startle the schoolgirl out of conscious thought.

"Sango!" Kagome exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, "It's so good to see you!" she couldn't help but direct her eyes nervously to Koshi, who had his back to her now, also smiling at Sango when she'd entered, although his was noticeably more melancholy. Silently Kagome tried to alert Sango to her discomfort with the boy, and Sango's lips tightened as she gave one curt nod.

"Koshi-sama," Sango started, with more respect now than she would probably ever give him again, "Could you leave us please?"

Koshi looked alarmed, almost afraid. With one quick glance he checked Kagome's expression, which was smiling—but not at him—and full of relief. Reluctantly, and very slowly, Koshi rose to his feet and slipped out of the room, like a ghost. Kagome couldn't help but pity him once she'd left, but she had no interest in him at all—and his impromptu kiss had left her too uncomfortable to really ever learn to like him at all, even as much of a friend. The thought of hugging him made her squirm on her futon.

"Kagome!" Sango rushed to her and threw her arms around the skinny schoolgirl, smiling into her matted, messy, dirty hair only to pull back again and frown, carefully looking over Kagome's face for scratches, bruises, and anything else that might seem out of the ordinary. It was in this scrutiny that, as she slid the other girl's bangs away from her forehead, that she noted that the bruises of the evening before were significantly reduced.

She blinked in surprise at Kagome and shook her head slowly.

"What?" Kagome frowned, "Do I have a giant kiss shaped bruise?" she muttered, thinking about Koshi embarrassedly.

"What!"

"Oh, nothing." Kagome frowned and waved her hand, trying to dismiss her words, but Sango read the look and the gesture, and immediately guessed.

"That stupid boy kissed you!"

"No! No…uh…" she sighed, still frowning, "Yes…"

Sango shook her head, "Well then," her thoughts flew wildly, _where's Inuyasha? If he catches wind of Kagome's scent now that **stupid** Koshi is dead!_ Instead of voice this aloud she looked Kagome up and down, taking in the stained, torn, and wrinkled green kimono that she'd been pulled from the river in, and the messy, tangled, dirty hair, and announced, "How about a nice, relaxing bath in the hot springs this village is lucky enough to have?"

Kagome looked like she'd been offered a free round-trip flight to Hawaii. "I'd love it!" she paused, looking down at her clothes. "But…what about…"

"Don't worry about it at all, Kagome, I'll get it for you, just wait here a moment and take it easy…" she patted Kagome's shoulder reassuringly and then rose quickly to dash from the room, but before she could quite vanish Kagome called her name, stopping the demon slayer at the door.

"Yes?"

"Where's Inuyasha?"

Sango's eyes widened and she looked around as if Kagome had just revealed some terrible secret. When she turned her dark, milk-chocolaty eyes back to Kagome she put her finger to her lips, "Don't ask about him just yet, okay? Especially not by name…"

Kagome frowned, "Why? Where is he?" Her face suddenly looked drawn and her eyes screamed silently in fear, "I remember a giant pig demon attacking us—did it—did he…is he…?"

Sango snorted, apparently unimpressed with Kagome's concerns. "Be serious! You know as well as I do, Kagome, that the only _real_ threat to In—to _him_ is _you_…" she started to turn and leave again but Kagome hissed her name a second time, and an exasperated Sango turned back.

"What is it?"

Kagome paused, uncertainly. She had been going to ask, _what do you mean by that?_ Because Sango's words had struck her as odd…but she decided, strangely, against it and asked instead, "Can you send Miroku in to keep me company…?" she scowled, deeply, "I don't want that Kisho—"

"Koshi." Sango corrected, smirking.

"—Yea, _him,_ to come back in here again…"

The demon slayer nodded, softly, but the look in her eyes, of clear amusement mixed with something else that was unfathomable and impossible to read, said she had more to say. "I don't know Kagome, Miroku's probably just as bad as Koshi…" she grimaced, "And I might have trouble finding him, because he's probably left to flirt with the women in the village again…" she sighed and looked Kagome in the eye, smiled lightly, "But I'll do it for you."

"Thank you!"

"Hai," Sango whispered at last, and turned, for the third time to leave, but this time stopped herself, pausing as a new thought struck her. She looked back at her friend with worry eating away at the corners of her mouth and eyes, "Don't talk about Inuyasha to anyone but us, okay? And only when we're alone…okay?"

Although the expression on her face and in her eyes screamed uncertainty and confusion, she nodded obediently and drew an X over her heart, "Cross my heart…" The demon slayer frowned at the strange expression briefly, but finally stepped out of the room.

As Kagome settled back down into the furs, grimacing at the sticky feeling her strange clothing had against her bare skin, she heard Sango's voice again, rising from just outside, "Miroku! How could you! She can't be over 10 years old yet! Leave her alone and come watch over Kagome…"

* * *

It was already around noon when they started to leave the village. Passing through the gates—which were still guarded by silent samurai sentinels—Sango tried to hide her face from them when she noticed that one had a black eye and a nose that seemed to jut to one side and was still stained and clogged with clotted blood. 

"Oh no," she muttered to Kagome as they passed, trying to bury her face into the schoolgirl's messy hair…but it was too late.

"Hey—you!" the voice was thick and slurred just as it had been the night before—but this time it wasn't because of alcohol, it was because his nose was broken, rather excruciatingly.

"Just keep walking Kagome!" Sango muttered, but despite her words she wasn't walking, she was jogging, the simple, white kimono that she had snagged for Kagome, folded and clutched beneath her arm. She used one strong hand to clutch Kagome's lean arm and drag her hurriedly down the path toward the river, dust scattering beneath their sandaled feet.

"Who is he?" Kagome slowed, fighting Sango's grip, trying to get a good look—there was no fear on her face, she held no memories of the man's armored, tank-like body, of his tiny, beady eyes, his thick, ugly nose or his cruel, arrogant tongue. "He looks like a samurai, Sango." She remarked innocently.

"Yea—a real ugly one!" Sango growled, grabbing her a little harder this time and pulling with just enough force that Kagome realized that the demon slayer was a tad fearful.

"What's wrong?" she smirked suddenly, unable to keep her retort inside, "Old boyfriend?"

"No," Sango looked as if she might vomit, "Old drunken idiot that attacked me last night."

Kagome laughed, "Seems a little obvious just who won that fight…" she looked behind them and noted that the large, ugly samurai hadnt left his post after all, but was still glaring at them knowingly. Even—she realized with a small jolt—at _her_.

She looked to Sango with a nervous smile now, "Uh…Sango?"

"Yes?" they'd reached the river. Women walked here and there, kneeling to work the rice plants or sitting at the edge of the water to wash clothes or to get swift drinks. A samurai dashed by them rudely, stopping his horse in front of them. He glared down at them as if they were ants.

"Ladies—where are you going?" his words were fairly even and respectful but his face and his eyes—although a far improvement on the beaten samurai's features—were angry and unfriendly. He clearly didn't think too much of either of them.

"This woman has been ill for sometime, sir," Sango began gesturing to Kagome, "But as she's beginning to recover I thought that a bath would be the first and best step to—"

The samurai frowned and interrupted them; "You can't go to the hot springs unattended. I shall come with you."

Sango blinked and the semblance that she'd had of respect suddenly died. "You most certainly will _not_!"

The samurai seemed startled by her response, but only for a moment before his brows met over his nose, his lips sneered, exposing yellowed teeth despite the man's youth. _If my father were still alive this samurai would be younger than him!_ Kagome realized, looking at the warrior atop his horse with renewed awe. Were all samurais so young? She'd thought them to be old warriors, full of honor and wisdom. What she'd seen thus far as arrogance and anger.

"You have no choice, _ladies,_" he stressed the word, apparently trying to remind them that they were vulnerable, "There's a demon on the loose, and you know it!"

Sango squared her shoulders and raised her chin. "Do you see the weapon strapped to my back?" she demanded.

The samurai blinked, and then huffed, "Yes—"

Sango interrupted him, "It's called a _hiraikotsu_. I am not a native to this village. I am a demon slayer. If the demon decides to pick a fight with me, I'll make him sorry."

The samurai had apparently grown tired of fighting with her. "It's your skin, _ladies_," he growled and kicked his horse roughly in the sides, taking his anger out on the poor beast. It whinnied and rushed forward, kicking up dirt in Sango and Kagome's faces.

"Well…" Sango sighed, "At least we get to do this in privacy…that's what I wanted." The demon slayer started to descend onto the riverbank, looking for the shallowest part at which to cross it.

Kagome looked around nervously, at the fields, at the women washing and working, at the samurais riding about the field…_why didn't I notice it before?_ She wondered, _all the villagers are frightened…_ it was clear in their huddled, hurried movements, the way they looked at the samurais with shining gleams in their eyes, and the way they whispered to each other—never laughing. This was work of necessity done in fear. They had no choice but to enter the fields to grow their rice, to do their daily tasks to ensure survival, but they did them in terror.

The schoolgirl bit her lip in sudden fear of her own and looked to Sango, just in time to gasp as the demon slayer led her into the water—it was freezing! And so fast…

_Wait…_

"Sango…Kishi told me—"

"Koshi," Sango interjected.

"Yea, that guy, the boy, he told me that they found me in the river…"

Sango glanced at her, a new pain awakening in her eyes that made Kagome look away, focusing on the swirling eddies of water about her calves instead before she burst out her second question, "And if there's a demon then maybe…"

In spite of the pain of seconds before Sango burst out laughing quickly, "Ha! Demons…these people need to learn demon from half-demon from human…they're surprisingly uninformed…" she paused, grabbing hold of Kagome to steady her when the schoolgirl tottered in the pull of the current uncertainly. "Are you ok?"

"Yea…" they managed a few more steps in silence, fighting the current, before Kagome sheepishly asked, "Sango, uh, I'm actually a little confused on the whole telling a demon from a half-demon myself. I can only sense it when they aren't completely human…and what's the story with these people and their demon? Are you sure that it's not something to be afraid of…?"

Sango threw her a careful glance, their pace slowed as they neared the other bank, the current dissipated. "You really don't remember anything that happened here, do you?"

Kagome shook her head, "No—I don't. Something _did _happen? Is that why that samurai with the black eye looked at me like I helped you beat him up…_did_ I?"

The demon slayer laughed lightly, "I wish you could've, but no. I don't know why he would have a grudge against you—probably just doesn't like you because you were with me." she pursed her lips as the two young women's feet met with the dry dust and dirt of the other bank, "From what I've heard—and it isn't much to go on—these people found you half dead in their river, nursed you back to health and got to know you for about a week before you were captured by the "demon" they're all so scared of."

Kagome looked at her friend's brown gaze in sudden alarm, her eyes wide with horror at the news. She'd been abducted by a demon? What terrible things had it done to her that she had forgotten? In a sudden frenzy Kagome moved away from Sango and started looking over what little she could see of her body. Were there bite marks? Stab wounds? Anything the least bit out of the ordinary at all to validate the demon slayer's story? Why couldn't she remember such a traumatic event? What was wrong with her!

The warm chocolate gaze was fixed on her as she squirmed, searching herself, mind and body, frantically, and Sango started chuckling. _It's so good to have her back_…she fought her own emotions for a few seconds—_don't think about the people you've lost, just enjoy what you **do** have…Kagome is alive, and she damn well is going to stay that way!_

"Calm down Kagome, he didn't hurt you. I know that for a fact." She smirked suddenly as the girl's head shot up, a mixture of confusion and lingering fear still in her eyes.

"How could you know that!" she demanded.

"Because the "demon" these people are so afraid of is _Inuyasha_."

Kagome blinked, too baffled to make sense of it all. Yet as the girls rounded the bend in the path, descending into the thicker forest and the boulders scattered here and there, Kagome slowed, looking around carefully. Something fluttered in her mind, like a butterfly trying to escape the grip of imprisoning hands. It took her a moment of gawking and thinking in silence to recognize the feeling as it swept through her: _I know this place…I've been here before_.

When she looked back at Sango a short ways ahead the demon slayer nodded solemnly. "This is where I was told it happened. You were, of course, the only one taken…you don't remember it, do you?"

She closed her eyes, wrinkled her nose, trying to beg the memories to enter her mind. Sensations reached her: dizziness, a strong grip over her body, a terror like a black hole opening and swelling inside her…she saw a flash of greenery as the trees seemed to flow by her, felt the fresh wind rustling through her hair and inhuman speeds…it reminded her of traveling on Inuyasha's back when he was in a hurry or she was weak and unable to keep up when he needed her. But these were all half-formed things, not true memories. She couldn't say whether she imagined them on the spot or whether they had a true connection with the place they were walking towards.

Slowly, regretfully, she shook her head, and, nervously, asked, "You're sure they're afraid of Inuyasha?" _How could an entire village be terrified of a sexy, red-robed half-demon with white dog-ears? Inuyasha should be afraid of **them!** Likely all the girls would want to feel his ears…I know that's what **I'd** want to do_… she blushed at the thought, which Sango clearly saw, and smirked right back at her knowingly.

"Yes, it was Inuyasha…" Sango walked back to stand directly in front of Kagome, taking hold of her hand, intertwining her fingers with the girl's. Carefully, meaningfully, she looked into Kagome's eyes. "Kagome, do you remember falling when the pig demon attacked us?"

The girl blinked, searching her mind. Once again a mixture of things reached her. There was a yawning fear, a sense of great height, weightlessness…suddenly the terror opened up inside her and she closed her eyes, tearing her hands from Sango's, screaming in fear. "No! No!" her knees shook and Sango wrapped her arms around the frightened girl, rubbing her back roughly, drawing Kagome back into the present, calling her name unceasingly.

"Kagome! Kagome! It's all right now…are you there? Can you hear me? Do you understand?" when she felt the girl calm she started to pull back—but stopped when she felt the wetness spreading on her shoulder. Kagome was crying…she set the girl at arm's length and swiped the tears away gently, trying to judge the girl's mental stability—was she ready to hear it all?

"Kagome…" she started, waiting for the girl to meet her gaze. The tears were brimming in her eyes, making them shine in the afternoon sunlight. Sango pursed her lips worried, contemplating her words before finally asking, "Do you want to know everything, or would you like me to just let you leave it forgotten for now?"

For a long time Kagome paused, thinking. Her gaze left Sango's. A few tears fell absently as she searched her mind and, without even realizing it, she started to shake. She'd fallen, that much she knew—the terror of that moment lived on within her. It wasn't so much the experience she remembered, just the raw feelings, and those terrified her. She felt like if she let them—if she focused on them—they'd swallow her whole…and one thing shocked her most of all. _I couldn't have survived that fall. I know I couldn't have. It should've killed me…why am I still here?_ When she thought of it there was something inside her mind—a place that was dark and cold and like a predator, stalking, waiting to eat her. And she'd realized, when Sango had asked whether she remembered the fall from the cliff; that she _had died._ Died, even if it was only for a split-second…and then what? Almost as if in answer to her questing thought, Kagome felt the shards underneath her strange, dirty green kimono burn again, making her blink the tears from her eyes, clearing her vision.

_The shards_… as soon as she thought it, she buried the revelation and looked Sango in the eye. "Tell me all of it, Sango," she bit her lip and forced herself to look brave, "The sooner I know the sooner I can deal with it."

The demon slayer nodded quickly and wrapped one strong arm around the weaker girl's shoulders. "Come on, I'll tell you while we're steaming in the hot springs, getting clean, okay?"

She nodded, "Yes…"

Though neither girl ever saw it, as they walked toward the steaming hot springs a high branch in a tree shivered and a shadow leapt away, deeper into the forest. The silhouette that had been watching them was just like a human's form with one simple exception—two witching dog-ears atop its head…

_Until tonight Kagome, until tonight…_

* * *

Endnote: More to come! More of my running gag (can you guess what it is by now?) and more Miroku/Sango fun too. Next chapter Kagome finally gets it through to Koshi that she doesn't want him...onto the thank yous now! 

Many great and powerful THANK YOUs to everyone that has reviewed (now and EVER!): **_Taeniaea_** (Thank you!), _**SerenaClearwater**_ (I loved being able to take a shot at Sango/Kagome chatting, and I get some more in next chapter too (grins) glad to hear you enjoyed it too!), _**Missyblue**_ (No need honey! It's here! Got the next chapter already ready too! Just wrote it today!), _**toxiclollipop**_ (I'm very glad to hear that! Yay!), _**Yami Chikara**_ (as you have commanded my Lady! (snickers)OH! And THANK YOU! For reviewing my "two-shot" first ficlet too!), **_souless one_** (Oh no! I'm really sorry to hear that! MY Miroku broke his collar bone too, I know he was out of it for a long time, kinda groggy and less fun, but see, he didn't have a crashhe tried to give his 200 pound girlfriend of the time a ride on his shoulders, fell over, and broke it. See, you have some dignity, and a right to be cranky, he didn't becuase his was so ridiculously stupid. I hope that TRUE story made youlaugh (winks) I wrote Koshi in this chapter thinking of you (snickers)), _**freekazekagura**_ (Thank you!), and last but not "leastly" is **_cool-chick-rae_** (If you didn't see my rave about you earlier I'm telling you now! (sniggles) and I'll tell you this one twice, you aren't annoying! No one here is! Ha, would you guys believe that unless you hadn't reminded me about him, I would've forgotten Namaru! Oh! That bastard would've gotten away without even Sango's beating cuz I woulda forgot! Grr! See how important you guys are!)

There, I think that that's everyone...(ponders) I thought there were more of you...(blinks) my email always soars to a count I can hardly deal with, but that's a consequence of my own making, posting three fics at a time...so I'm not whining at all! But just when I think this story is my most popular "With Arms Our Arms Wide Open" comes back to bite me! (blinks again) A last shameless Me plug (sheepish look, bats eyes) I started a new story called, _**"I Miss You"**_ named after Blink-182's song _I Miss You._ Yes, the tradition continues. Interested? Check out my profile...I also had an idea (in the shower no less! Just yesterday!) of an AU that won't leave me alone, and since I've never done one before, I'm interested in running it by you guys first...? Okay, preview time: (This is a snippet of the running gag, which is done incessantly next chapter...):

_Kagome blew out a long loud breath from her lips. "You know that little annoying Kisho—" _

_"Koshi." Sango interrupted with a sudden smirk that made Kagome's hands clench into fists. _

_"Yea, Kishi, Koshi, Kisho, Kissy-wissy whatever!" she growled, sounding surprisingly similar to someone they both knew who liked to make such noises whether he was frustrated or not, "Whatever his stupid name is he's not coming!" _

Okay, that's it for me, until next time! Remember to review!


	19. Possibilities Infinite

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha or Hoobastank's lyrics.

**A/N:** A note to all young teens reading this, I don't mean any insult later in this chapter when Koshi and Shisuki are talking and I compare and contrast the14year oldof 2005 with the14 year old of the Feudal era. Let's face it guys, 14 is _old_ in their world, 16 is definite marriage material, so is 14. In one episode I think the Inu-group even meets a 14 year old girl who met Miroku years earlier as a young child and when she meets him a few years later she offers herself up to him saying she is able now to bear his children if he still wants it. I can't remember her name, but Shisuki is that age, she's probably less than a year from actually being married off I would imagine. Sango was probably sought after too before she was made into an orphan by Naraku's plot...but anyway, I mean no insult with that passage, it's just the truth, our industrialized society has _created _the idea of adolescents. There are 14 year olds in other countries that are marrying right now as we speak...er...type. Anyway, that's all I meant by it, that things could change so drastically. Anyway, the running gag is continuing, now if you didn't get it the first time (and I think everyone did!) you'll certainly get it now! It's like non-stop...hope you enjoy it! We're coming to THE END...I'm actually writing it as you read this likely...I have a snippet at the end for you...there may also be an **epilogue** if anyone wants it...yes? No? Reivew and tell me guys! You've been wonderful! On with the story!

**

* * *

****Possibilities Infinite**

_"There was a time when o__ur dreams felt so real_

_Just out of reach but __not too far to feel_

_Together we'd finally __make them come true_

_'Cause anything's possible_

_When I was with you…"_

* * *

"I know that your hair will never smell as nice now as it always does after you come through the well, but," Sango sighed, "This will just have to do." She handed Kagome a towel quickly as they stepped out of the hot spring, their bodies steaming with the deliciously warm water. Both girls began drying themselves off, watching around them in turns instinctually for peeping eyes. Traveling with two young men had long since worn in the instinct like a law: watch your back or your modesty just might be compromised. Of course neither Miroku nor Inuyasha would admit to such accusations—but as far as Sango and Kagome were concerned they'd been caught red-handed numerous times. And it seemed almost against Miroku's very character to_ not_ peep… 

Although of course, the peepers might very well be village boys, or worse and still more likely, a samurai that had followed them to act as sentry and made sure that he was just close enough to see the forbidden fruits. At any rate it ensured that the girls dressed quickly, Kagome slipping on the clean, simple white kimono that Sango had provided her, while the demon slayer herself donned her usual attire, the body suit underneath her sarong-wrap green skirt and her pink kimono. She strapped hiraikotsu to her back the moment Kagome was finished dressing and the two headed back toward the river and the village amiably.

It surprised Sango that Kagome had wanted to hear everything she knew, but she'd obliged the schoolgirl, telling the story carefully, trying to tone down the bits that her friend seemed to have trouble accepting—and there were several. She'd told everything, from Kagome's fall that all of them were sure she couldn't have survived—which was something that seemed to disturb Kagome particularly, so she skimmed as much as she could—to Inuyasha's disappearance and their mourning. It was an especially troublesome subject for Sango as well as Kagome when the story reached the shards—until Kagome had spared her that part of the tale by showing the fragments of the Shikon jewel to her as they stripped their clothing off. Sango decided to leave out their search for the shards then, it was too gruesome. Kagome wouldn't want to hear it as much as Sango didn't want to tell it. Who wanted to hear that their body had to recovered so that an important item could be retrieved? It seemed too much like grave robbing.

Oddly enough Sango realized that Kagome's sense of time was off-kilter. Early in their discussion she'd asked if a week had passed since the pig demon's attack, and Sango had blinked in shock.

"_Weeks_ have passed, Kagome." She'd told her, which seemed to surprise Kagome quite a lot, judging from the blank stare of denial.

"But I don't remember _weeks_…I only remember waking up a few days ago…"

Even Sango didn't really know _everything_ that Kagome had done as _Sakana._ There was no way, really, to find out either, unless Kagome remembered at some later date.

By the time they'd crossed the river, their legs freezing from the shock of transition from hot spring to chilled river water, Sango's story was complete—ending with Inuyasha's abduction of her as the perceived, "Red Demon." Kagome seemed to find their fear of him amusing; she blushed as they passed through the rice fields, her old, dirty and wrinkled green kimono in her arms.

"How could they be so afraid of him? _Why?"_ she shook her head, taking quick, fleeting glances of the demon slayer, and as she did the smile died on her face and she stopped where she stood.

Sango, caught by surprise, stilled a few steps later, turning round to look at her friend, "Kagome?" she called, nervous suddenly at the change.

The girl looked up at her, her brown eyes suddenly wary, darkened with some fathomless emotion. She opened her mouth as if to speak and then silenced herself again and looked about the fields around them, alive with fearful villagers like busy ants. Busy ants with poison spray aimed on their nest…Inuyasha hadn't always been like the hanyou she trusted with her life, the one she loved. When she'd first met him he'd tried to kill her without remorse. If she'd handed over the shards of the Shikon chances were he couldn't have cared less about killing her—but it didn't chance the fact that he'd been _untamed_…she hadn't wanted to believe what Sango had told her before, but now…she looked up and swallowed nervously. "You said Inuyasha thought I was dead and he was crazy with grief when he ran away from you and the others?"

She nodded, her eyes grave now too, realizing that she had forgotten one important note in her story—the murder of the samurais. "Kagome—I didn't tell you at first…uh…" she let her voice fade and die away, unsure abruptly on whether or not to tell the girl the truth.

"He did something, didn't he?" Kagome asked, recapturing Sango's attention, "He did something that made them afraid of him." She paused, her voice catching in her throat at a new thought, "Did he lose control and become a full demon?"

At the sound of her voice and the word demon, several of the villagers looked up, glaring at her with mixtures of fear and disdain. Some were suspicious, others simply filled with instinctual fear at the word alone. Seeing this, Sango rushed back and took Kagome's arm. "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere alone—quietly." She suggested in the girl's ear with a nervous hiss.

Kagome pursed her lips and nodded, "Okay."

As they approached the gate Sango's body stiffened beside Kagome's, and the girl looked up, confused at what could intimidate the otherwise stoic demon slayer…and then saw the same broken, twisted, ugly face of the samurai of before. "Oh no." she mumbled, noticing that Sango was once again trying to obscure her face behind her as they passed…but this time the samurai seemed distracted, he was speaking to the other man acting as sentry. Instinctively they sped up, trying to pass before the samurai could see them…

Without a word they succeeded and both girls sighed heavily in relief. "Oh I wish Inuyasha had killed him last night when he had the chance." Sango chuckled darkly beside the schoolgirl, and her words caught Kagome's attention, making her head snap up instantly.

"Inuyasha was here last night…?" she frowned, confused, "But you said these people are terrified of him! They think he's a demon!"

"Yes, but only because they're uneducated."

"What do you mean? I didn't know about it when I first saw him…" she blinked, realizing what this was implying, "_You_ did, Sango?"

"I might have been forewarned," she shrugged, and Kagome could see the harder lines in her face coming out, straining, as the demon slayer struggled to keep her inner emotions that related to her first meeting of Inuyasha reigned in and controlled, "But even if I hadn't been I would've known, yes."

_"How?"_

The demon slayer shrugged, "Don't ever tell him this but—Inuyasha's too_short _to be a demon."

"But he still looks like one!" Kagome insisted, getting caught up in their argument.

Sango hissed at her, shushing her as a group of villagers walked past, smelling of fresh stew and soups and spices. And sweat. Kagome scowled at it, wishing that deodorant existed in the Feudal era at that moment. When they'd passed Sango directed Kagome back toward Mijai's hut at the back of the village. As they approached she whispered in her ear, "We'll talk as soon as you're inside and resting. I'm guessing that tonight we make a break for it."

Mijai was outside his hut, working some sort of meat of a skewer that had once been some type of animal. When he heard them coming he looked up and smiled faintly. "Hello Sakana!" he beamed, and when he caught their momentary blank stares in response he fumbled and then blurted, "Well, if she isn't named Sakana, what the hell am I supposed to call her? What's her grandfather's clan name again, did you say, demon slayer?" the healer's voice was gruff, confused. Kagome blinked at him, trying to remember him—after all he'd obviously known her alter ego, the Fish girl. But nothing came to her…except, maybe, a smell of spicy stews, noodles and chicken…

"Higurashi." Sango nodded at Kagome, "Higurashi Kagome. And I believe that we will be taking her back home to her grandfather tonight, Mijai-sama."

The healer made a light grunting noise and looked back to his fire, turning the skewer to expose some of the more raw meat on one side of it to the blaze of the fire, "You'll have to take Koshi with you, of course…" he mumbled, so low that Sango almost didn't catch it as she led Kagome back toward the hut.

"What?" she asked a second later as his words registered.

"Koshi," he frowned and his eyes flew to Kagome, "You know, Higurashi Kagome, the young man is head over heels for you…he's in there right now, probably. Doesn't have much to do with the samurais anymore. I think that when you leave he'll slip off with you." Kagome blushed and her fingers immediately flew to her lips, touching where she remembered he'd kissed her…and suddenly she had an image attack her mind: Kouga and Inuyasha battling each other viciously, snarling like mutts over her, as if she were a piece of meat…

"Oh God!" she groaned, and the tightening of Sango's arm around her waist told her that the demon slayer understood her concern.

Mijai frowned, gesturing at Kagome, "What's the matter with her? Does her head still hurt?"

Sango nodded, "Yes, I'm sure that's it, Mijai-sama…"

"I have some herbs that could help the pain!" he offered as they walked past him and into the hut, but when they didn't answer him and slipped inside he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and turned his attention to the skewer again.

Inside the back of the hut Sango and Kagome were relieved to find that they were in fact alone. Kagome collapsed on the furs of the futon that was, apparently, hers, at least for the time being, and moaned.

Sango sat beside her and added her own sigh to the empty room's silence. "We'll go tonight. I'd bet my life that unless he managed to kill himself between last night and now Inuyasha _will_ come tonight and we _will _leave…" she frowned, "Koshi will take one look at Inuyasha and run. He'll be so scared of the _demon_ that he won't even remember you."

Kagome blew out a long loud breath from her lips. "You know that little annoying Kisho—"

"Koshi." Sango interrupted with a sudden smirk that made Kagome's hands clench into fists.

"Yea, Kishi, Koshi, Kisho, Kissy-wissy whatever!" she growled, sounding surprisingly similar to someone they both knew who liked to make such noises whether he was frustrated or not, "Whatever his stupid name is he's _not_ coming!" she groaned again and looked up at Sango, "He asked me to marry him this morning—_marry him_?" she choked just saying the words. "I told him I didn't even know who he was and he _still _wanted me to marry him!" she dropped her head into her hands, shaking in frustration as Sango started to laugh.

"It's _not_ funny! Ugh!" she growled again, but Sango couldn't stop.

And then—speak of the devil.

Koshi stepped into the room, smiling lightly at Sango's laughter—he hadn't imagined she was one to prone to such outbursts, but here it was nonetheless—and all sounds ceased, except for Sango's nervous throat clearing. "Hello Sa—Kagome." He bowed and then his eyes flicked to Sango's still very reddened face, "And hello to you as well Lady Slayer."

She scowled, "My name is _Sango_." She reminded him and Koshi half-cringed, half-flinched.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be…" Sango threw Kagome a mischievous glance and then rose to her feet, despite the schoolgirl's squeak of terror. "I need to find my…" she coughed, "_Associate_, the monk." She stepped beyond where Koshi was standing, hovering briefly at the door and smirked at Kagome knowingly until her mirth was wiped away by Koshi's idle words.

"Oh? Him? The monk is washing clothes with the women at the river…" he chuckled amusedly, "I've never seen anyone as eager to have children as that _monk_ of all people is!"

Now Kagome smirked at Sango's renewed flush of pink skin and the anger blooming in her eyes, as fiery as any rose's red. "I'll get that letch…" she promised, grumbling as she slipped out, leaving Kagome and her not-so-secret-admirer alone…

Koshi started forward and Kagome raised her hands, desperately trying not to quiver. "Kishi—"

"My name is Koshi." He corrected.

_Damn it! Stupid me, stupid name! _"Koshi." She started again, "I don't want to marry you. I don't want to kiss you. And I don't even know you. I guess we knew each other before…" she blushed as she wondered at a sickening possibility—how _well_ had the other her known this boy? She resisted the urge to ask him such a question and instead cleared her throat nervously, trying to find something else to say, but Koshi spoke first.

"When do you and your grandfather's servants plan to leave?" he asked, nervously. His eyes were focused on his hands, fingers fiddling busily in front of him.

"Um…" _what is it with these people and thinking that my grandfather is rich?_ "Tonight, I think…"

Koshi's head snapped up, his eyes alight, "Can I come with you? _Please?"_

Kagome grimaced but answered without hesitation. "No."

His gaze was suddenly hard and confused, "Why not?" he asked, and stepped forward, kneeling before her despite her desperate waving to try and get him to stop, "I know you don't remember me right now…" his hands groped and grabbed hold of hers, squeezing tight, "But we could get to know each other. Please, just give me a chance, once chance, and I know that it could work." He raised one hand to her cheek, as if to caress it and for a moment she saw his hair become lighter until it was silver, his eyes lighten into a shimmering gold, and his ears jump to the top of his head…but _only_ for a moment, a very delusional split second…

She slapped his hand away, "Kisho—"

He closed his eyes as he corrected her this time, "Koshi love, my name is Koshi."

She felt as if she might vomit and had to stay silent to make sure she wouldn't. "_Koshi_…" she sighed, searching for something that would make him see… "Ki—_Koshi_…the girl you fell in love with isn't me."

He blinked, rather stupidly. He reminded her, perhaps not so strangely as she initially thought, of a cow, staring blandly at the slaughterhouse, never understanding the horrors that awaited it there. _Oh no_, she realized when the stare continued, _I'm going to have to explain that to him_…

"Kish—"

_"Koshi."_ He corrected her this time with a slight snap in his eyes. She could see the first signs of irritation in there, and it almost made her smile with relief. _If he couldbe irritated with her there was hope._ Perhaps he wasn't going to continue being so hopelessly in love with her…?

"Yea, _that."_ She cleared her throat and, slowly, reached for one hand, taking it in her own as if afraid that it might bite her, as if some sort of poison might rub off and get into her bloodstream. Koshi's eyes shone with something that tried to make a lump in her throat, but she forced it down, staring at his hands instead…and noticed that his skin, if she squinted her eyes hard enough, could look as beautifully golden and flawless as the half-demon dressed in red who just happened to haunt _both _their dreams—albeit in two very different ways.

"Koshi…" she sighed, finding the words, still staring at his hands, "You've got to realize that I don't remember any of what you do about whatever happened between us…"

His hands tightened around hers. "But, don't you see? You _could_ get to know me again, Sakana, you _could_."

Sadly she smiled, seeing her own truth in his words, unknowingly spilled right out of his mouth. "See, that's what I mean Kisho—"

"Koshi."

She ignored the correction, "You just called me Sakana." She shook her head, "You don't know _Kagome_, and that's who _I am_." She looked carefully into his eyes, silently willing him to understand. "Sakana doesn't exist anymore, Kosho."

_"Koshi."_ She could see the sparkle of annoyance in his eyes, growing larger, and prayed that he couldn't also see in her gaze that she was now deliberately forgetting his name.

"Do you understand though?" she asked, shaking his hand within hers, desperately, "I am _not_ Sakana. I don't even remember _her_. I don't remember anything that happened, only waking up here a few days ago—and even those are really hazy. I still can't believe that it's been more than a week since that pig demon knocked me from the cliff!" she laughed, shivering at her own dim, half-memories that danced through her at the thought.

Koshi was staring at her with a very strange expression in his eye. "But…the slayer and the monk told me that you were abducted by the Red Demon." He blinked, and she knew that she'd made a mistake.

"Never mind." She tried to smile at him, tried to force away his curiosity—besides, all that was not the point—what _had_ she been getting at? She looked down and saw their hands together still, and suddenly it hit her again. Roughly she tore her hands away from his, despite the pain that entered his gaze…and she blurted, "And that's why you can't come—I'm not Sakana, I'm Kagome."

He pursed his lips, determined, and reached for her hands again, longing for her touch, but Sakana—Kagome—sat on them rather than subject them to his desperate touch again, sliding her small, white hands underneath the white kimono she was wearing, under her thighs…that thought momentarily distracted him into frowning before he could force his wandering mind away from sex and back to reality. She wasn't going to marry him, and she didn't even want to know him! Carefully he took several deep breaths that he tried to disguise from her to steady his heart and the emotions that threatened to explode within him, like water from behind a cracked dam.

"I would _love_ to know Kagome _too_…" he whispered, praying that he reached her with the truth of those words. He had loved Sakana—was Kagome all that much different? He doubted it; the biggest difference that he saw was that Kagome was confident and more prone to smiling, unlike the more timid and shy Sakana who gave small smiles but was always scared and alone on the inside. Perhaps that was why he'd wanted to be with her so much—because like him she was lost, without a family, without a place to belong…

Kagome seemed to think his words over—or at least that was how it appeared to Koshi, when in reality she was seeing Inuyasha spring on the poor, foolish boy, pin him to the ground and threaten to kill him…and since he'd thought she'd died so recently—who was she to say with _any _authority that Inuyasha might not kill the boy? He was wild and feral by Sango's own admission. She didn't know what exactly had happened that made these villagers so frightened of him—Sango had never gotten a chance to tell her—but she knew it must be something serious. She swallowed nervously and closed her eyes tightly for a moment. _I need to break this boy apart. I need to make him **not** want to come with us somehow_…but the only thing that she could think of that would sway him was…_Inuyasha_…it hit her like a two-ton Toyota truck and she restrained herself from grinning, by coughing abruptly, making Koshi flinch and reach for her—as if to hold her—but she pushed him clear and silenced herself.

"Listen Koshi." She looked him dead in the eye, unblinkingly, "You _can't _come with us. You _can't_ get to know Kagome." She paused, forcing him to ask why, taking her bait.

"Why?"

"Because," she sat up straighter, wondering how exactly to phrase it the strongest, "I can't ever love you at all as Kagome." She paused, yet again, making him frown and ask his one-liner another time.

"Why?"

"I'm already in love with someone." This time when she paused it wasn't to bait him, it was to let herself blush at the reality of her own words. She'd thought to mush it up, to lie a little, to say she was engaged or some such silliness. But when she'd said the words out loud, hearing them sent little shivers through her. Little rivulets of mixed emotion—longing, love, pain, fear…so many for her to sort through…but in this pause she was unaware of Koshi's staring at her, his careful reading of her face, the look in her eyes, the glow on her cheeks and in her eyes…

"You _do _love this other man," he sighed, catching her by surprise, "But whoever _he _is,_ he_ doesn't love you the way you want him to."

She was stunned, her breathing stopped. For one so dense when it came to himself and her feelings for him, or rather, her lack of emotions for him, he was shockingly good at reading the situation between herself and another…she blinked at him and slowly smiled sheepishly, one hand coming from the safety of its hiding place beneath her legs to cover her mouth in her astonishment.

"Kishi—"

"Koshi." He sighed, gently, depressingly.

"Oh, yes, Koshi, I'm sorry…" she stared again at him, harder, curiously, "How did—how did you—"

He smiled, gently but sadly, unable to hide his pain, "It's all over you…" he shook his head, looking away ashamedly, "I shouldn't have pressed you so, I'm sorry Kagome." He rose, slowly to go. She stared after him as he went, noticing suddenly, the way he hadn't needed to be corrected when he'd said her name. He'd easily called her Kagome, and not Sakana. Apparently the fact that Kagome clearly loved another made the difference between the two girls real to Koshi, allowing him to see the truth and to leave her…but even so she couldn't help but feel terrible for it…

"Kisho…or uh…Kishi?" she called to him as he reached the door.

With a sigh he turned round and whispered the correction, "It's Koshi."

"I'm sorry…" she tried to cover her blush but failed miserably, "I wish that I could've been the one to help you…I really do. Chances are I'm stupid for turning you away. You seem really nice, really dedicated. Heaven knows that the girl that _does _get you will be _very_ lucky…probably luckier than me."

Koshi paused; staring at her strangely, and she had to look away, unable to read what his face was saying. "You think that this man you love will never love you back the way you deserve?" he asked, quietly.

When she looked back at him, and saw his fists opening and closing at his side she took a sharp breath in, startled by his ferocity of emotions. "I…he…" she sighed, "It's complicated. He's always been there to protect me, but there are a lot of things that probably just wouldn't work out…" she felt like crying at those words, but knew them to be true. _Yea, there are 500 years that won't work out and a dead priestess so that Inuyasha just thinks I'm a copy and not the real thing even though stupid Kikyo is **dead!**_

Koshi now had his back to her, but over one shoulder he was glancing back. Despite the stiffness of his stance his voice was soft and truthful. "If this other man has any sense at all—Kagome—he'll love you back…" he chuckled once, and she didn't fail to note the bitterness in it, "He probably already does…" he disappeared then, leaving her shocked once again by his words. _For someone I thought was so dense_… she shook her head, _never mind. I hope Sango comes back soon. I just want to get out of here, go home…take a bubble bath…vanilla and amber…_ she lied back on her furs, sighing as her memory supplied the beauty of her favorite smell.

_I can't wait to see that well again!_

* * *

"She said _that_!" the girl stared at him, stunned, her hand covering her open mouth as if it might catch flies. 

Slowly, sadly, he nodded. "She did." He sighed, "But she was right…"

"How can _you _agree with her!" the girl's dark, straight black hair swung about, caught by both gravity and the wind as she tried to tilt her head far enough forward to see his face—but Koshi had turned it away. He couldn't face the girl's scrutiny. She'd see that he was near tears—tears weren't manly. He was _sixteen_, the age of manhood, and yet he knew that this girl's younger, obnoxious little brother acted more like a man—more like a samurai…what was her brother's name again? Toka…that'd been his name.

He looked back at Shisuki, sighing, "What she said was just the truth, I could see it in her eyes."

"So she's not Sakana at all?" the girl's eyes seemed brighter, moister than usual, and Koshi smiled at her genuinely, realizing that the girl missed Sakana as much as he did.

"Well, her gestures, her speech…a lot of that is the same. But she smiles more…and she's not lost anymore."

Shisuki nodded, solemnly, but he noted, with a twinge of something that he couldn't recognize within himself, that she _wouldn't_ look him in the eye. Why? Curiously she decided to watch her more carefully—it'd help take his mind away from the pain of losing Sakana…

"Shisuki?" he began, and her eyes jumped straight to him, unafraid. He'd never really taken the time to notice before but—the girl was pretty…when she was Sa—Kagome's age, he guessed, she'd be more than pretty, she'd be beautiful. The men would line up outside her family's hut, offering up themselves as suitors. For a girl so beautiful they wouldn't even care if her family could pay a dowry or not…her obnoxious little brother would have to beat them off of her with a stick! Maybe, when the Red Demon had swooped down to steal a girl away he'd really been aiming not for Sakana, but for 'Suki…he shook his head, perplexed at such thoughts…_she's two years younger than I am and happy here in this village with her family, the only thing we have in common is Sakana, and now we've both lost her…_

"Yes?" she prompted him when he didn't speak. Koshi blushed and looked away from her, to the ground instead. Unresistingly he let his gaze rest on Namaru's stallion's dung pile with a frown.

They were sitting on the fence around the stables again—right where he could so fondly remember talking to Sakana on the night that the Red Demon had come directly to the village and Namaru had thrown her outside…his fists clenched at the memory. Both at Namaru's absolute cruelty—which had surprised even Koshi, who'd known the cranky, foul-tempered samurai for years now—_and_ at the three arrows he'd shot at the Red Demon, two of which had hit their marks. And _neither _of which had even so much as stunned or slowed the beast down. He shook his head, unaware that Shisuki was still staring at him, curiously.

"Koshi-sama?" she asked, her timid voice quiet and full of respect. He looked back at her, blinking at his own stupidity for a moment. "What was it you wanted to ask me?" was that a blush on her cheeks? But why?

"Oh, I was going to ask you if that monk that came with the lady demon slayer had asked you to bear his children yet." He laughed lightly at the thought—Shisuki was pretty enough to fit in right alongside the monk. That monk was _very_ handsome, in a strange way…

Shisuki choked and started to giggle, covering her mouth with her hands again, laughing so hard that she wobbled on the fence and Koshi had to reach out and stabilize her. When his hands took hold of the girl's waist he was surprised to feel that she was slightly plumper and warmer somehow to his touch than Sakana or Kagome had ever been. This fourteen-year-old was somehow different from the older girl that they'd rescued from the river, but he couldn't understand exactly how…besides the fact that Kagome had been weakened with her brushes with cold, watery death, why did Shisuki seem as old as Kagome despite the two years that separated them? And seeing Kagome with the demon slayer—the slayer couldn't have been _that_ much older than Kagome, but it just _seemed _like she was…

He couldn't ever have guessed that in 500 years, girls 'Suki's age would be flittering little things, giggly and eager to experiment with boys and kissing and best friends. And those Kagome's age on the whole had only matured a tad more—Kagome particularly had changed, becoming less like her peers in the 21st century because of her experiences in the Feudal era.

The wind stirred as he and Shisuki locked gazes, and the girl smiled at him, her blush disappearing. "Thank you, Koshi-sama." She breathed, steadying herself on the railing of the fence. But Koshi found, strangely, that her touch wasn't something he didn't like…he paused, reluctant to remove his hands from her waist, which 'Suki noticed with another blush that she tried to hide by turning away.

Seeing that Koshi jerked his grasp away, clearing his throat nervously. "You looked—uh …unsteady." He finished, lamely. Making sure to stare far away from her this time, toward the sunset. "So…" he started, trying to clear his voice of nervousness—nervousness that he shouldn't have been feeling, "Did the monk track you down?"

"Yea…"

"Ask you that strange question?"

"Yea…he said I was gorgeous." Her voice shivered, as if repeating such a message shamed her. Koshi looked back at her, scowling. Why was her head lowered? Her gaze hidden away on the ground where he couldn't see those eyes, black like gorgeous pools of ink…he stopped himself, realizing that, like the perverted monk, he'd used the same word to describe her. _No_, he thought, blinking, _it's a coincidence_. Rather than admit his thoughts to her he looked away, his eyes once more landing in the stallion's poop.

"I told him that he was too old for me." her voice whispered behind him, and Koshi scowled, glad that she couldn't see it, _how old **was** the monk_? He wanted to ask her but refrained. Instead he leapt away from the fence, stooping to pick up the brush for the horses. If he didn't get them combed and "polished" then Namaru and a few of the others would skewer him and cook him when they left…_but I don't want to go with them…I want to go with Sak_—he stopped his thought midway, feeling a new and different sort of pain awaken in him, a new realization. _You didn't care what happened or why—you just didn't want to go back with the samurais if Hekamino died, and you know it. That's the truth. Without **him** you have nothing there for you. The Warlord that calls himself your uncle has never given you a second glance. There's no future for you there and you **know** it. You were looking for escape and Sakana offered it…but now…?_

The comb and the hoof-picks felt cold and ugly in his hands, he almost dropped them back to the earth, but at the last minute he pushed the inner voice, the inner truth, away, and clasped them hard, firmly. _I will do my job; I will be a man_. He rose and reached for the stallion's hoof, cursing it gently when the animal stomped to force his probing fingers away once.

On the fence Shisuki laughed lightly at him, melodiously, and he stopped, remembering that Sakana had done the same…but there hadn't been as much joy in hers, only simple amusement. He dropped the stallion's hoof and looked up at her, smirking. "You think this is easy? Or fun, 'Suki?" the girl looked away, suddenly guilty and afraid to meet his eyes, and Koshi felt a jolt of regret. "I'm only kidding." He amended quickly, smiling warmly.

She risked one small glance at him, admitting his messy but attractive hair, much lighter than the monk's had been, his brown eyes large and full of mirth…she couldn't stop the blush and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry Koshi-sama." She murmured, like a child…but inside she felt not what she would've felt in such a situation with her father or brother or any other man, young or otherwise, she felt something she didn't recognize…she blinked down into her lap, trying to push the feeling away with a frown.

"Oh c'mon 'Suki," he chuckled, immediately recapturing her attention. He had yet to turn back to the stallion's hooves with his pick, "Don't feel so bad about it, okay? And you know what, if you wanna help me pick horse poop out of this guy's big ugly feet you can most certainly help me—I'd be pleased to have you." He caught himself at those words, rethinking only the last six that'd left his lips. _I'd be pleased to have you_…he forced the deeper implication away, stifling the threatening blush, and gestured for her to get down into the stall with him.

She came, smiling nervously. "Koshi-sama, what if I hurt the stallion? What if the mean samurai gets mad at me?"

Koshi set down his comb and slowly handed her the pick instead as he stooped and grabbed up the horse's hoof, much to the animal's annoyance. "Don't be afraid of the samurais, 'Suki," he told her, gently, as he placed the horse's hoof into the crook between his knees, one hand still steadying the hoof as the other guided 'Suki's quavering hand with the pick. "If those samurais get mad it'll probably be at me—and at any rate, 'Suki, if it _did_ happen to be you, well then," he chuckled pleasantly as a piece of yellowish-brown grass and hay bound material that could've been just various muck except that Koshi knew better—it was horse poop, he'd bet his life on it—tumbled begrudgingly from the horse's massive hooves. "Then I'd just have to shoot them all with my bow and arrow."

He didn't miss the sharp intake of breath that came from 'Suki. She whispered, "You'd do _that_ for _me?"_

He let the stallion's hoof slide free of his grip. The animal whinnied ad stamped once, flinging more suspiciously innocent buts of debris this way and that.

Koshi met her dark-eyed gaze sternly and nodded, "Of course I would Shisuki."

"Would you do it for me even if the Red Demon were the one coming for me?" she asked, her voice suddenly trembling.

Slowly, Koshi nodded, "Yes, 'Suki," he assured her, smiling, "I would." And inside he felt a steely new emotion take root within him and harden just as fast. He would keep such a promise to her, he knew he would, if such a need should rise—he would be there. To kill the Red Demon for both Sakana and Shisuki, it would be more than duty—it would be pleasure.

* * *

Endnote: Yay! Thanks guys! We're about to break 200 reviews! YAY! THANK YOU GUYS! 

_**Taeniaea **_First to review! _**cool-chick-rae **_well you should feel loved (grins) I hope I've done well by it so far...you'll see next chapter(nods gravely) _**BeccaPatty**_ haven't heard from you in a while! Great to see you again! You remind me of my good friend from gym class (also named Becca) she's straightforward and I like her attitude with things...I like yours with Koshi (you're not alone with it of course!) _**Missyblue**_ Thank you! _**SerenaClearwater**_ Thank you very much! I'm glad to have done well by them and by you! And I LOVE your long reviews (winks) _**Yami Chikara**_ (snickers) I know I would of slapped him too! Ugh! LOL. _**sveta89**_ coming right at ya! (grins) _**Adema's Haunted Boxers**_ WOW! I LOVE this name you have! (giggles) **_Simonkal of Inuy_ **Thank you! You're just reading all my work! I'm glad to have you! _**LukeShaehl**_ Yes, I had wondered about that, I know little to nothing about Japanese (sheepish blush) so that's interesting to know! Thank you! I hope to hear more from you! And I've kept your thoughts of expansion in mind too...so, any ideas for the epilogue? (winks) _**Unwary Hanyou**_ I love your enthusiasm! Very similar to the hanyou we all know and love (and who you named youself after...(grins)) _**Mad-4-Manga**_ My Easter was good...(pouts) over too soon though...not enough good candy, my parents went cheap on me this year...But with so many cookies that you give me for my updates I'm sure to get fat! (gasps) But thank you anyway (muches her cookie greddily despite her fears) and I'm so sorry! I probably did miss you...(she's a klutz)...Thank you forsticking with me anyway! _**toxiclollipop **_Ah! SweetPoisonous vapors! Sorry, I just love your name, every time I see it I try to imagine what that lollipop looks like...(wants a lollipop suddenly, craves it intensely...) I gotta stop writing these out when I'm starving! _**Flamesofthemo0n**_ wishy-washy? No No! I Thank you! (bows low) you honor me! All of you! See if you want wishy washy I'll give you my ex-b/f's phone number. He didn't say happy Bday to me even though it was announced over the intercom in school and we have friggin choir class together and my Mom brought in cupcakes...sorry...I got a little carried away there (separates personal life from stories again(calm smile) Thank you again! Absolutely not wishy washy! **_Lady-Sttar_** Wow! Poopy-head! I LOVE that! And you're right...he IS a poopy-head...well, poop-for-brains you know...(grins) _**Pyrinsomniac**_ wow! Thank you! I really enjoyed writing her too...and I really liked the episodes in the anime when she joins, her determination was inspiring. But I keep thinking about what yoiu said about Miroku and there MUST be some other episodes about him that I haven't seen becuase I know less about his deeper aspects (like I know nothing about his mother, I know his father died of his curse of course) and I saw an episode where a snow demon fools Miroku into thinking that he's father to some hundred or so babies and despite his misgivings (and lack of memory of spending "time" with her) he dutifully cares for the babies. I was impressed (I hope Sango was too!) anyway...I'll have to research more thoroughly...my interest has been aroused (grins) _**fanfiction1**_ Yes! You're right! And speaking of Hobo, are there episodes where Inuyasha really does that? I have to see them! Gosh...(cries at her lack of IY watching as of late) ...

well that's done: THANK YOU EVERYONE! I suspect that we'll break the 200 marker very soon if we haven't already...I'm so proud! (beams) When I first published this story in the wake of the ever popular "So Much for the hanyou's happy ending" I thought it'd never get this popular. But I'm glad to have kept it going! Whee! Thanks for sticking with me! The end is NEAR! At MOST there will be 2 chapters to go (not counting an epilogue.) More likely there's only ONE chapter left. Just one...Cool Chick Rae, it's gonna be your ending, or very close to it anyway...I have a few things to finish up in it or the epilogue (should there be one? hmm...I'll let YOU guys review and tell me what you think...) Namaru hasnt been forgotten, neither has the theme that I started out with, and not even Inuyasha's crimes against the samurai...Kagome still has to hear about those and forgive him you know...(nods) of course it's gonna help to know that he did it while he was crazy with grief...but anyway, on with the (you guys will HATE me when you read it!) preview:

_And then Kagome stretched out one hand, pointing at something that Inuyasha couldn't quite see without turning his head to one far side. She screamed, "Look out Inuyasha!" _

_He heard it, knew what it was, but couldn't turn fast enough—pain tore through his left side as the arrow met with his flesh and he stumbled, catching himself with one clawed hand some five feet from Kagome and the others. He felt a hot liquid tumble from the side that had been hit, and piercing, breath-stealing pain tore through him. He knew instantly that a vital organ had been pierced…_

Okay...that's it for now...until next chapter (probably) THE last one! THANK YOU everyone again! I never dreamed I'd love this story that much but I do! (cries) till next time...


	20. A Lover's Quarrel

**Disclaimer:** I don't own him...ya got me! And I don't own the quote either. That's Matchbox 20's material, not mine, from a song called "Bed of Lies" on the album called "Mad Season."

**A/N:** There were SO many reviews to the last chapter! (YAYS!) I especially like this chapt's quote...though it might not be cited quite accurately...I can't ever quite make out the words in the second line, I always thought it was "Let me" but "Help me" might be just as good and it makes more sense (winks) so I chose that. Kay, Yes we DID make it to 200! Over in fact! Just so that you know this chapter is 15 pages long in word, the LONGEST I have ever written for a single chapter before...So here goes you guys...This is the last one I think...the rest of the story is in an epilogue, which hasn't been completely written yet so it may be a little longer in coming...but it WILL come...this one is ALMOST finished! The name for this chapter comes at the end...now on with it eh? (Oh, and _aijou_ means Beloved Daughter I think in Japanese)...**Warning: There is gore in this chapter, violence...some death too** You have been warned...but trust me, everything's okay in the end, don't be scared to read...

**

* * *

****A Lover's Quarrel**

_"I am all that I'll ever be_

_Help me_

_Lay your hands over me_

_And don't go weak on me please_

_I know that it's weak—but God help me_

_I need this…"_

* * *

The sun was setting swiftly, the golden light fading fast over the hills, peeking weakly through the forest in the west. Despite the fact that normally the villagers would've worked into the darkness of early evening, this night, as they had for some nights now, they hurried in from the black snake that was the river as nighttime approached, they abandoned the fields of rice. Their faces were masks of fear. 

Most of them knew that the demon had come the night before. They'd heard the screams from the healer's tent and had heard rumor—starting no doubt from Mijai who liked such gossip—that the good in the girl they'd known as Sakana had been faced with the evil in the demon in red again. All of them believed it, they'd seen the girl alive and awake and walking to and from her bath that day beside the slayer, who seemed to be as much friend as she was protector. The girls that had washed clothes with the other servant that wasn't a youkai—the monk, Miroku—had tried to pull bits and pieces of information from him only to learn, and promptly spread the rumor that the Red Demon was pursuing the girl.

As Shisuki's mother ventured in from the river with a few of the other women of the village close at her heel, she caught sight of her daughter lingering by the stables, a look on her face that clearly screamed she was daydreaming. The girl's mother stole up to her and quickly jerked her daughter away, much to the girl's alarm.

"Mom!" she gulped, blinking back her thoughts. Koshi had left the stables some time ago, after cleaning most of the horses. The samurais had summoned him, demanded him in their midst, so he had left her—but she wished with a passion that he hadn't.

"Don't be short with me this evening, _aijou_, after what I've just heard, and with the darkness coming, I've a mind to bury both our heads below ground…"

"Mother! What're you talking about!" Shisuki demanded, confusedly.

"You know the girl that you and Toka pulled from the river?" her mother whispered, her dark eyes—like the ones 'Suki herself possessed—were sparkling and alive with fear.

"Yes, of course I know her!" she couldn't help but feel her chin pucker slightly at the memory of the way Koshi's face had been so pained when he thought that he wouldn't be able to follow Sakana to the ends of the earth and ask her grandfather and her clan or whoever else challenged him for her hand in marriage. For their chance at eternal happiness…and she wanted nothing more than to see his handsome young face smiling happily, not wrinkled with sadness…but happiness for him was another girl, older than 'Suki, prettier…richer…

"The monk traveling with her," Shisuki's mother didn't notice the way her daughter's face beamed bright red in the dim light, "Miroku is his name, he told Akira that this Red Demon is obsessed with this girl from the river!"

New fear opened up within Shisuki's heart. "Wh-what?"

Her mother didn't bother to answer her, "And the demon is coming to get her! He was here last night but it's likely that that young Koshi and that woman—the demon slayer—chased him off before he reached that poor girl…but tonight—_tonight_ of all times!—they're planning to _leave_!" her mother huffed, eyes wide with fear.

"The Red Demon is in love with Sakana? But how—"

"Shh! We know nothing of this! I'm going to stay inside tonight and whatever you do—don't light a fire! The monk provided me with a few sutras that will ward away the Red Demon…" she frowned through the dim light, "They cost quite a lot but I'll take _anything_ to keep us safe…" she gave her daughter a meaningful look as they neared their home, "Remember that, 'Suki, your family is the most important thing there is." Her eyes hardened then and she hissed in fear when her daughter tried to pull away, "What's wrong with you 'Suki?"

"I have to go warn Koshi-sama mother!" and the girl yanked her arm from her mother's grasp, and dashed off, ignoring her mother's frantic calls for her to come back.

* * *

Sango looked up, her chocolate eyes that were oh so gorgeous and huge and trained directly on him, made him squirm inside, made his right hand ache to rub along the smooth curve of her thigh and the erogenous muscle of the gluteus maximus and… 

She wasn't happy. _Damn, what did I do?_

"Miroku," she growled, dangerously as he tried to smile at her nonchalantly, already beginning to suspect what it was that he'd done…it was rather obvious when he looked around. The villagers were hustling about around them, the samurais had seemingly disappeared, but Miroku knew that that was misleading. On his way in with the women he'd seen the samurais already on their horses, urging their mounts along the river, waiting. And he knew what for, as did Sango, Kagome, Shippo and Kilala. Well—the whole village knew what actually…

"Yes, Sango? Oh, but no, wait!" he rose his hands in front of him as Sango pushed off from the gate where she'd been leaning, waiting for him to come up from the river where he'd been trying to pretend he was one of the washerwomen all day, "Before you speak I must say—did I mention that among this whole village—and I _have_ looked—there isn't one so fair as you!" he smiled at her, with genuine charm, and noted that she wasn't scowling _too _much…and she was coming closer. He restrained the nervous twitch of his right hand.

"Oh, Miroku," her voice was calm, light and even, "That's so sweet of you…" he sensed it coming but hardly had time to cringe before her hand flew up and swatted his cheek.

"Ow!" he clutched the offended flesh, and gave her a pained look. "But—my Sango—"

"Save it!" she hissed, and reached out, pulling him closer to her. His stomach did a flip-flop, and he didn't resist her closeness in the least. She still smelled like the clean, sweet water of this village's hot springs! By the gods! He'd seen her walk by when he'd been with the washerwomen further downstream. He'd watched her and Kagome cross, talking pleasantly as they went, and had almost excused himself from the village women's company to follow after them for a quick peep—but at that moment one of the mothers had asked him about her young daughter, who was of proper marrying age, and with how much she liked him she was sure her daughter would be delighted to…and his attention hadn't strayed again until he'd seen them crossing the river again, this time on their way back. _Darn._

But now here she was and he could still smell the springs on her, the clean skin, clean clothes, clean hair…oh but how he _wished_ her mind _wasn't_ clean…

"What," she hissed in his ear, her sweet breath making his hand twitch and his stomach flip flop at once, "Did you tell the villagers today when you were with them?"

"Oh, but my Sango, I didn't tell them a thing! Except if it was about your great beauty…" he took advantage of the closeness to blow into her ear a little, and was thrilled to the core when she shuddered slightly—he wished that he had Inuyasha's sense of smell. Was it possible to tell what she was feeling by her scent with a dog demon's senses? Oh, how he envied Inuyasha the gifts that his demon heritage had given him from time to time. What, if Miroku had such gifts, would the women say when he was able to work them like clay and give them such delight, anticipate everything they craved…? And to think that Inuyasha and Kagome weren't lovers!

She pushed him—hard, harder, probably, than she'd even realized or meant to. He stumbled away a bit and, unable to feign pain, he smirked at her look of frustration. "Stop lying to me Miroku!" she gestured around them, and toward the fields where the samurais roamed in packs, swords at ready, bows and arrows clasped tightly, eyes searching the darkening woods. "Do you see that? Do you think I _believe_ that it happened so coincidentally?" she sighed, one hand coming to her temple, eyes drooping closed. "I need a rest. I can't wait to go back to Kaede's hut and just sleep…"

Miroku shook his head once, as if dispelling his day of flirtation, and sighed sadly. "Sango, I didn't think that I'd told them much, I'm sorry…"

She looked up at him, keenly, "What _did_ you tell them?"

"That their Red Demon is in love with our Kagome."

Sango's face looked as if she might suddenly pass out, and Miroku felt his conscience spring up, tightening his muscles and giving him a nasty sinking feeling in his heart. He lifted his staff up, making it jangle and shine dimly in what little light remained. "We can just leave now, along the road. Inuyasha will follow us." He paused, waiting to see what she thought of this, but when he got no answer he added, "As long as that boy isn't planning to come with us still…?"

With a sigh Sango nodded, "I think Kagome took care of him—I haven't seen him since we came back from the hot springs at all. And you're right—these people will be glad to see us go now that you've linked Kagome with the 'Red demon.'" She huffed, scoffing.

When Miroku offered up no immediate response in his defense, accepting his mistakes, she threw him one last look and nodded her head slowly, "Let's go get Kagome and get this over with…"

Miroku gestured with one hand, smiling casually for her, "After you, Sango my dear." She passed him and reentered the village with nothing but pursed lips and a nervous, tight walk that told him full well that she didn't trust him, or his hands…but as he followed behind her he was pleased enough to watch the curves moving underneath her green skirt…his hands itched and his stomach was tight but he'd already been slapped once in the last few minutes, thus he stilled his desires and waited, letting her be surprised by his reserve. _Yes, that way when it happens again maybe she'll believe me when I tell her there was a piece of lint, or an insect, or a wrinkle…_

* * *

_Almost dark enough_…Inuyasha stared through the trees; his ears flicking forward and backward with his tension, his muscles were corded and tight, waiting to spring. _And when I do those samurais aren't going to know what hit them…_but he stopped that thought, frowning to himself. _Kagome wouldn't like it_…indeed, the schoolgirl kept him civil; she tamed the inner beast where none of the others could. For her he would've thrown away his haori and dressed in a business suit and tie, if only to make her happy. And right now he knew that killing samurai, no matter how annoyingly arrogant they were, wasn't the right thing to do. 

So he stayed silent and quiet, waiting tensely where he was. Another quick glance at the sun and he guessed only a half-hour before he could leap through their midst, scale the village walls, and grab her up for a getaway…_I just gotta get her out of there, damn it!_ If she stayed longer he was certain that they'd never get their quest back underway…

Out in the rice fields a samurai's horse whinnied and stamped irritably. Through the dying light Inuyasha's keen eyes made out a frail, thin frame of a girl—younger than Kagome—dashing out into the midst of the samurais. He could hear her yelling a name of some sort that struck a cord within him; it was familiar. He'd heard it before…last night surely…

He pushed that thought away when he saw what was happening in the rice fields. The samurai that she was trying to speak to lifted one arm and called out the same name, drawing another samurai on horseback from further away toward him. This new warrior rode with a boy behind him. Inuyasha felt the hair all over his body bristle with instinctual hatred. He recognized the boy's form—it was the boy that had left his scent on Kagome, as well as the _same_ boy that had shot the arrows into his flesh…

As if wounded all over again Inuyasha's shoulder and thigh blazed with heat and brief pain. He silenced his fidgety nerves with a quiet and short hiss, choosing instead to focus on what was happening in the fields still.

The samurai that shared his horse with the damned boy, who held a bow and arrow at ready, apparently his weapon of choice, stopped beside the girl and the first samurai. A quiet conversation began, but it was so far away that Inuyasha frowned, realizing that he'd never be able to hear it.

A splashing sound reached him then and his gaze jerked to the river. A samurai on foot crashed into the water, sword drawn and glimmering in the dying light. Inuyasha smirked when he noticed that this samurai limped as he walked and his nose was crooked…_I know you, jackass, you tried to force yourself on Sango and got a little more woman than you could handle_…the ugly, crooked nosed samurai stumbled out of the river and toward where the other warriors on horseback were talking to the girl. A few moments passed through which Inuyasha made out only heated whispers, and then an argument broke out among them. The boy with the bow and arrow seemed particularly vehement about something and Inuyasha noted that the girl wasn't pleased about it either—she'd dropped to her knees and was bowing in the direction of the samurai that Inuyasha had helped Sango beat the night before.

_Ah kid, don't bow to **him**_…Inuyasha smirked.

Suddenly a familiar scent tickled Inuyasha's nostrils and his gaze jerked from the meeting of samurais in the field to the village's gates…immediately he pinned the spot with his gaze, fixed it with his dog ears tuned to it like radar. Just as he'd scented she would, Kagome appeared, rail-thin and still weak, but noticeably better. He saw the bow and arrows slung over one shoulder and smiled a little to himself in something that bordered on pride. _She **does** remember who she is_…behind her Sango came, a steadying hand on the schoolgirl's shoulder, and Inuyasha felt his tension slacken a little. If Sango was there things were likely under control. Miroku appeared as well, the kitsune on his shoulder. He couldn't see Kilala but knew that she was likely trailing between Sango and Miroku protectively.

The group walked calmly out of the village and down the path, toward where the congregation of samurai was still lingering, but Inuyasha noticed that they'd stopped talking in favor of staring at the approaching group of mortals and small youkai alike. The hanyou tensed, waiting, watching, sensing danger as if it were a scent on the wind.

Sure enough, just as he'd suspected, one of the samurais on horseback edged in front of his approaching friends. The words that they exchanged were few and too quiet for Inuyasha to hear, but he did note the way that Kagome looked alarmed. He caught her eyes roaming over the forest, searching for him. He shifted uneasily, _what the hell is going on?_

Voices suddenly rose in anger. Sango and Miroku were arguing with the samurai that had stopped them, and for the first time Inuyasha heard what they were saying—which, he suspected, wasn't an accident. His friends were trying to protect him…but even if they hadn't bothered to do it he was confident that he would've seen it coming…even so he still folded his ears back in anger and growled quietly to himself in disgust. _Why do things always become more complicated than they need to be?_

"You can't use her as _bait!"_ Sango's voice screeched, clearly heard against the silence of the fields. The samurai drew his sword, the metal twanging almost melodiously as it slid free of its sheath. He leveled it at Sango and at Kagome, ignoring Miroku for the moment.

The monk took advantage of that and used his staff in a sudden, darting movement, swiping the sword out of the samurai's hands. It clattered to the earth, and the samurai growled menacingly.

The beaten samurai, the man on foot, stepped forward, his girth further blocking Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo and Kilala. The girl that had first run onto the field began to cry out, pleading, begging, but the man on foot grabbed her up easily into his arms, snarling as her did so. He held her firmly and the girl struggled only for a moment before crying helplessly, unable to get away.

Other samurais started to abandon their tedious search from along the river and soon joined the first that had moved to block the Shard-hunters' escape. More quiet words were exchanged, all the while Miroku and Sango looked outraged and tense, while Kagome's eyes had wandered frantically, her gaze almost pleading, over the trees again. Inuyasha felt his skin itch when her gaze passed over him…_move, you stupid half-breed, before those samurai kill her! You've almost lost her twice now, and here you are sitting waiting to lose her again, for good!_

His muscles tightened, his fists clenched, claws readying for the kill…his knuckles popped and Inuyasha surveyed the field, laying out an inner plan…

Miroku's voice rose loudly now, "Koshi-sama, how could you agree with these _beasts?"_ that accursed boy was now with them, helping to close off all escape routes for the group. He'd apparently dismounted and was staring out at the forest, bow and arrows at ready…Inuyasha never heard his response, didn't even know if he bothered to answer at all, because his patience for this had worn out.

The sun had set…and Inuyasha's claws were hard as steel, ready to draw blood. _I'm sorry Kagome but these samurai have proven more than annoying now…_

He sprung from the darkness of the trees in one bound, splashing loudly in the river, the water obscuring his shape and color as the samurais stared in shock. A second later and the hanyou was on the riverbank, staring them down, amber eyes gleaming, white fangs exposed viciously. He crouched on all fours, ears perked, eyes narrowed like an animal, but the growl that escaped his throat was in plain and understandable human language.

_"Let them go!"_

A shout rose up, the guttural, deep voice of a samurai, Namaru in fact: "Our plan worked!"

Immediately a volley of arrows flew through the air, all aimed at the hanyou. Inuyasha smirked and sidestepped most of the projectiles, slashing others that came uncomfortably close into little bits. A war cry reached his ears, and Inuyasha looked up just in time to spot one samurai running toward him, his sword flashing in the rising moonlight. Behind him two more came, each waving their own swords and brandishing a separate war cry. Two of them were on horses…

Inuyasha leapt clear over the first, kicking him in the back of the head as he did so, knocking the first on foot samurai all the way to the river with a resounding splash. The horses hooves came next, one on either side, their swords pointed straight down at them…_stupid samurais should know better than to ride their horses into battle with any kind of demon_…when he'd been wild after his mother had died Inuyasha had attacked samurais just for their horses, like a panther, in the night. It was always a better choice for a growing pup and far more filling than fruits, slimy salamanders and tiny minnows…

As the horses drew nearer, Inuyasha growled at them, bearing his fangs, letting them scent him, letting them see that he was a carnivore through and through…and the horses, far smarter than their riders, stopped mid-stride and reared, whinnying in fear. Inuyasha backed away a little to avoid their flying hooves and remained crouched, waiting for the samurais to face him on foot.

When both men had abandoned the horses—which immediately bolted back toward the village as fast as their hooves could carry them, they seemed hesitant to engage the hanyou, but their swords were still drawn and ready…and then Inuyasha heard the breathing behind him and whirled round, claws at the ready. The samurai that had first attacked him had been trying to creep up on him from behind, and had nearly succeeded, but at the last moment Inuyasha whirled on him and his claws tore through the warrior's armor, barely missing flesh. Sparks flew when the metal tore apart, tumbling from the stunned man as he tripped and fell once more.

_What a waste of my time_…

Inuyasha shouted, "Move, bastards!" and leapt over the fallen samurai as well as the two that were still nervous about attacking him after their horses had failed them. The hanyou made a half-leap, half-running dash toward the group of horses and archers that were still separating him from his friends and…_Kagome_…her scent filled his nose, and his heart beat frantically, seeming to swell…

The horses in the group became glazed with terror. They bucked and bolted, tossing their riders and dragging them right away with them. Curses tore through the air, tossed at both the horses and the hanyou that had so frightened the mindless herbivores. But Inuyasha didn't pause at all—he could see his friends huddled together protectively, watching in shock as the samurais seemed to vanish around them…

And then Kagome stretched out one hand, pointing at something that Inuyasha couldn't quite see without turning his head to one far side. She screamed, "Look out Inuyasha!"

He heard it, knew what it was, but couldn't turn fast enough—pain tore through his left side as the arrow met with his flesh and he stumbled, catching himself with one clawed hand some five feet from Kagome and the others. He felt a hot liquid tumble from the side that had been hit, and piercing, breath-stealing pain tore through him. He knew instantly that a vital organ had been pierced…

"No! Inuyasha! No!" he heard Kagome's desperate screams and looked up to see her struggling to reach him, but the others were holding her back, their faces grim gray masks, fighting to remain unaffected.

Inuyasha coughed and choked, tasting blood…_a lung_…other organs could be pierced and he could easily, albeit with great pain, carry on and win a battle…but his lungs were vital, too vital for him to have a huge chance at success. _But these are only samurai, only mortals_…the thought gave him strength and he took a deep breath, ignoring the agony, the burning pain that tore through his lungs on the left side.

He looked to his left, at where Kagome had pointed, and saw…his eyes narrowed in sudden hatred, and he felt the blood that his heart pumped still so steadily burn almost as much as the arrow through his left lung did…the rage, the instinct, tore through him, infusing him with strength that the hanyou didn't quite understand the full capacity of…he rose to his feet, his gold gaze pinning the archer with a primal fury. The name of this archer, this competitor, floated into his mind and he snarled it aloud, _"Koshi…"_

The boy notched another arrow and shot it, but his aim was off and Inuyasha ducked the projectile easily. His fangs gleamed bright white, they seemed huge, too big to fit into his mouth. Koshi started to reach for another arrow, but his hands shook with terror—the monster before him was now regarding him with blood red eyes, as if a vein had popped in both eyes, spilling the precious body fluid into the whites of his eyes. A bluish streak—shaped like a lightening bolt—had made an appearance over each cheek. The demon stared at him with these transformed features, seeming to delight, even to feed off Koshi's fear. An evil grin spread over his face.

"Go on pup," his voice was low and gravelly, "Aren't you going to shoot me? Or are you going to sit there and piss your pants instead while I cut you open?" a small trickle of blood escaped Inuyasha's lips, sure sign that he couldn't keep up the fight for very long or he'd choke on his own fluids…

"Inuyasha! No! Stop!" Kagome was screaming at him, and although some part of him registered the call most of him ignored it, continuing to draw strength from the boy's simple and complete terror. If he thought about Kagome the hanyou would take over once more and the battle would end before he could win it—he'd be slaughtered. The burn in his left side ached with each breath but the demon ignored that pain, turned it into a source for continued rage and hatred aimed at the boy.

Behind him Inuyasha heard the two samurais that had been so hesitant to attack him before approaching behind him. Dropping on all four appendages, he rolled away and slashed with one clawed hand. His talons raked over the men's legs. Blood spurted, feeding the demon's frenzy. The men fell; howling in shock and pain…blood filled the demon's senses, smothering all else…

Another samurai raced at him, and Inuyasha slashed him through the neck twice when only one cut would've killed him, cackling in triumph. A female shrieking reached him, he scented, although dimly, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala, but he ignored them. If they knew what was good for them they'd stay clear. He was having trouble discerning his friends from his foes. He could only tell what was made of easy, mortal flesh. And when he met with it he tore it limb from limb.

There was a whizzing sound, a feminine wail…_another arrow_…he whirled on it and slashed the weak wooden thing to pieces; splinters flew everywhere. He growled gleefully to himself, turning blood red, sadistic eyes on the archer again, smirking at the thought of tearing the boy apart…

He rose to his full height, snarling when pain streaked, white-hot and blinding, down his whole chest. Was it the samurais' blood or his own that he smelled now? He couldn't be sure and the demon _really_ didn't care. The blood didn't matter. _I can make more_…he reached one clawed hand to the trickling moisture that was escaping his sides, felt it hot and sticky between his fingers, and glared at the boy, who was still shaking as he notched yet another arrow.

"You think you can stop me, boy?" he snarled, still fingering the blood as he fixed the boy with his gaze. The demon struggled to draw another breath from the hanyou's tortured lungs—the urge to cough and heave was overwhelming but the demon ignored it and gave a gurgling cackle. "I'm going to rip you open like a fish!" he shouted and started slowly forward as Koshi froze in terror, "And then I'm going to grab your guts and choke you with them for touching _**my **_Kagome!"

Then Inuyasha started, confused dimly through the haze of his evil youkai blood, turning his red eyes away from Koshi's prone, frightened form to stare at a shadow that had appeared out of nowhere, coming straight for him…the demon realized that he had been so blinded by jealousy and rage and the scent of blood that he hadn't noticed this other samurai lingering with the group. Faintly he realized that he'd seen this samurai before. Behind the warrior's girth Inuyasha saw the shape of a girl flitting by, rushing toward Koshi, and had time enough to register that it wasn't Kagome before he saw the arc of the samurai's sword swishing through the air, highlighted by the moonlight. He saw the warrior's bent and misshapen nose, the ugly squinty eyes…and the sword coming toward his throat…

And then a high-pitched voice that he'd know even if he were _dead _cut through the air: "SIT!"

Weight immediately pulled at his throat and the hanyou felt himself slipping downward. The samurai's sword whisked just inches away from his precious ears as he sank, face first, toward the ground. The moment he hit the dirt the grit forced itself into his mouth, his nose, his eyes…and there was a terrible jolt of stabbing pain in his side as Koshi's arrow—which the demon had never bothered to pull out—was jammed even further into Inuyasha's flesh. He screamed at it, only to find himself choking on blood and unable to draw breath steadily….

The blackness closed over his senses and the pain melted away as he retreated deep within his own mind.

* * *

Namaru's blow sliced air and he stumbled, confused. There was a thud and suddenly, directly at his feet, the samurai saw that the demon was facedown in the dirt. His blood trickled freely there, mixing with the earth to make a disgusting reddish-tinted mud. The demon screamed in pain and started coughing and gagging on its own blood for a moment before finally lying still… 

Was it really dead? Better to be safe than sorry…he lifted his sword, ready to make a final slash, severing the Red Demon's head from his body…but as his sword swung upwards he felt something hard smash into him—and bite deep into his flesh, sinking deep into his gut. The sword slipped from his fingers and clattered noisily into the dust beside the unconscious and heavily bleeding demon.

Namaru gasped confusedly and touched his side, feeling his fingers come back slick with his own blood. He looked up, seeking his attacker, first looking to Koshi until he saw that Koshi was on the _wrong _side of him. The boy had abandoned his bow to hold the younger girl by the name of Shisuki as she shivered and cried against him. The boy was staring at Namaru in horror…no…he wasn't looking at the samurai—but he was staring at something just behind him.

Turning in that direction the samurai saw the girl that the people of this village had dragged from the river as she slowly lowered her bow, looking pale and drawn and exceptionally weak…_she shot me_…

Pain shot through him and he stumbled again, "Bitch!" he gasped out, "You have the shittiest aim I've _ever_ seen!" that had to be the explanation—she'd been aiming at the demon and had missed, hitting him in the gut instead. He sank to his knees and fumbled for his sword with one hand, the other clutched at the bleeding wound and the arrow shaft that protruded from it. He closed his hands around the sword and shifted, breathing hard, moving to position himself over the demon's prostrate body, still trying to deliver the killing blow…but the girl that's shot him shouted something at him, making him pause.

"What, bitch? I'll slaughter you next if you don't…" his side hurt badly, but not enough to make him stop talking. It hadn't been his injuries that stopped his flapping mouth. _The girl is aiming another arrow at me…_

"Get away from Inuyasha!" she was sobbing, he could see the tears in the dim light.

Koshi spoke suddenly, yelling, "Sakana! Why are you trying to save the Red Demon! He's a monster!"

Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala remained stunned by the entire episode, almost like statues. Everything had happened so fast…and now they weren't sure what to do, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion like a sick dream…

Kagome was the only one who seemed free of confusion. She knew what she wanted clearly and she was determined to get it. "Get away from Inuyasha!" she shouted, ignoring Koshi's question.

Namaru looked at her for a moment, stunned stupid, but then an angry gleam entered his eyes. "I always knew that this bitch," he wheezed, wincing in pain, "Wasn't human, Koshi, you stupid weasel…" he pinned the boy with his gaze, "Kill her Koshi."

"No!" Shisuki yelled, pulling on Koshi's arms as he reached for his bow in slow motion.

The boy and the girl from the village stared into one another's eyes, a silent conversation going on between them until Shisuki looked toward Namaru, Kagome and the others. She took a deep, shivering breath, "Sakana doesn't know who the Red Demon is, she doesn't know how terrible he is."

"That's too damn bad," Namaru sneered at Shisuki, clutching his side, and then his glance flew to Koshi, "_Kill _the demon then, an arrow to the head." He reached down with one hand, tentatively, and started to pull Inuyasha up, grunting and cursing in pain as he did so, stumbling on both his blood and the hanyou's. But before he could lift the dreaded Red Demon anywhere Kagome rushed forward and pushed him away, tears still trickling from her eyes at the same rate that both the samurai and the hanyou were losing blood.

Namaru forced himself up, moving away from the girl and the demon, confusion written clearly over his ugly and bruised features. "You _stupid bitch_!" he panted, pain running through his middle continuously. His leg was slick with blood, his fingers covered in it. He used his sword as a crutch, keeping him upright as he gathered his strength, still glaring at Koshi and Kagome. _"Kill her Koshi."_ He spat.

Koshi notched an arrow and lifted his bow, staring at Kagome without expression. Shisuki shivered at his side and shook her head desperately, but when she reached for him Koshi pushed her away. His gaze locked with Kagome's.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala jumped into action. Sango rushed to join Kagome, Miroku moved immediately to shield the women's bodies with his own. Shippo hopped to Miroku's shoulder, his fur bristled in an attempt to look threatening. Kilala transformed in the blink of an eye into a fiery, saber-toothed beast, daring both Koshi and Namaru to make a move against her companions.

Koshi's cold stare had vanished, and his bow lowered suddenly. From one to another he looked, carefully taking in all of the facts. The arrow he'd notched into his bow slipped away. Sango and Kagome huddled together, each providing the other strength. Miroku guarded them as if he were made of something as hard and as painless as stone, unflinchingly. It was clear he would take the arrow meant for Kagome without question. Shippo bristled and growled on the monk's shoulder, the green eyes lite from within by an inner fire that Koshi had never seen the like of before. The fire cat a short distance behind them snarled and growled, waiting for the first sign of attack, poised to strike. His eyes at last came to rest at the center of this motley group…the red-robed demon.

Unconscious and silent, the dog-eared monster that had attacked the samurais and killed his father figure from among them was no longer a threat. He lied, bleeding into the dirt and the grass, completely helpless. Koshi would've killed him as Namaru had instructed had it not been for Kagome's and the group's instant action. _Why would they save a demon like this?_ And then it hit him as he stared at Kagome's tears. _She isn't looking at me, she's trying to reach the wounded demon…she doesn't care whether I shoot or not_…He stared at the group and a realization struck him suddenly.

"You _all_ know each other. Not just the small youkai, Kagome, the slayer and the monk…but _him_ too…" he gestured with one hand breathlessly at the unconscious Inuyasha. "You _know_ him…"

When the bristling of the kitsune and the coldness of the monk lightened a little and no one spoke out against him, Koshi sagged as he knew that his thought was right. Looking to Kagome he saw the desperation in her eyes as she stared at the fallen demon, still crying silent tears…his fingers tightened over the bow. "It's true isn't it." He nodded to himself, "You all know one another and you," his voice finally reached Kagome, she looked up, her tears glistening, "_You_, Kagome, _you love him_. That's the one that you told me you loved…"

She didn't answer him but he didn't need one to be sure about what he saw so clearly in her eyes, in her face, in her actions... Pursing his lips his eyes flickered briefly before he lifted the bow so fast that none of them had time to react, the arrow was already notched again. The bowstring twanged like the cords of a guitar, the arrow shot away before anyone could stop it, Shisuki screamed…

The arrow sliced straight through Namaru's neck, stopping him mid-stride. He had been about to slice through the Shard-hunter's group, tearing as many of them apart as possible from behind before in swift revenge for what Kagome had done to him, but Koshi had seen him and reacted instinctually. Perhaps, if the samurai had been kinder to the boy over the years Koshi might've hesitated, but Namaru didn't have a compassionate bone in his massive body. He had sealed his fate with his own cruelty ages ago.

The samurai lurched, blood spurting into the air…and collapsed in a sickening heap. His sword clattered to a stop inches from where Kagome was sprawled over Inuyasha, shielding him with her own body.

A few moments of silence passed, through which none of them spoke, until finally, Kagome looked up, her tears still falling, but her eyes shining with gratitude.

"Thank you Kisho…" her voice quivered with emotion, her breaths were drawn in little gasps.

Koshi lowered his bow and sighed, smiling slowly at her, "It's Koshi, Kagome."

"Koshi." The girl nodded, her eyes shining with a melancholy laughter. "Thank you."

He nodded once. "I'll pray for your happiness, Kagome…" he glanced at the others, as if seeking permission, and then his gaze hardened when it landed on her again, "But I'll never be able to forgive that beast you're protecting."

Kagome looked startled, "I don't know what he did…I…he thought I was dead…"

Koshi rose to his feet, Shisuki stood up beside him, quivering and crying quietly. "He killed three samurais, and injured five others. All of them died." His face became especially hard and cold with hatred at the last part, "One of them was the man I looked to as a father."

Kagome's face was an unreadable map of emotions. Her mouth opened once, then shut, and then opened again. Finally she closed her eyes and started crying again, "I'm so sorry Kishi—_Koshi!"_ she corrected herself only to begin sobbing some more. Her hands over Inuyasha' still body tightened, the fear and grief mingling inside her, opening like another black hole. Though she didn't know it her thoughts mimicked the hanyou's of only a matter of minutes ago: _Why do things always become more complicated than they need to be?_

Voices rose from the village, the people were stirring, the lights of their fires growing more and more abundant and brighter. Koshi and Shisuki looked toward it, sighing with exhaustion as one. Though they didn't see it, Miroku was staring at them with a silent glimmer in his eye: he noted where the boy's hand had strayed on the younger girl. It appeared that he was only steadying her with his grip on her shoulder, but Miroku could see the beginnings of a wonderful companionship between them…

"We need to leave—Miroku?" Sango's voice rose behind him, and the monk turned to face her, nodding, "We need you to try carrying Inuyasha…"

Silently, after Shippo had leapt from his shoulder, he knelt and took hold of the hanyou. Kagome and Sango helped, turning Inuyash carefully onto his back, only to be stunned as he started to choke and sputter, blood forthed at the corners of his mouth.

Kagome gasped, her face blanching in horror, "Oh no! No! Sango, turn him onto his stomach! Pound his back!" they worked together, turning the heavy hanyou over once again, but before they could strike him the hazily started to waken and cough on his own.

Shadows appeared at the gates, looking out to the fields in timid curiosity. The villagers' fear would soon be overcome by the thirst for answers and then the Shard-hunters would never escape. Miroku looked toward Shisuki and Koshi and bowed with respect, "I thank you, Koshi-sama and lovely Shisuki dear, for all of your help…but, if I may ask…"

Koshi nodded slowly, "Yes?"

"Could you please keep the villagers away long enough for us to escape?"

Both youths nodded together slowly, and Miroku smiled at them softly, violet eyes warm in the night, "And may you be blessed in your future life together." When his name was hissed from behind Miroku turned back and wordlessly accepted Inuyasha's heavy and bleeding body. The monk, busy with the task of moving the stricken hanyou over to where Kilala had knelt ready accept their fallen comrade, missed the stunned gazes that followed his movements as Shisuki and Koshi realized what he'd been implying for them.

They watched as a moment later the demon slayer and the monk positioned Inuyasha's limp body onto Kilala's back, with Kagome and Shippo sitting behind, supporting him, and then the fire cat leapt into the sky, quickly gaining speed as she lumbered away. Miroku and Sango followed swiftly after on foot, Sango's hair flying in the timid night wind, shining under the moonlight. They could hear Miroku's staff jangling for a long time until finally the more distant sounds of the river swallowed it up.

Mijai was leading the villagers. Armed with spears, bows and arrows, shovels, and garden hoes, anything that seemed remotely like a weapon, they stumbled toward the boy and the girl, eager to discover what had happened.

They didn't quite get that far.

The scene that lied before them made the villagers recoil with shock. Three dead samurai lied within fifteen feet of the two youths—who appeared to be the only survivors. Blood was splattered and mixed into the earth everywhere. The fields stank of the stuff. The villagers stared, disgusted, holding their hands over their mouths and noses on instinct to avoid sickness.

Mijai slunk to Koshi and Shisuki, who appeared as stunned as the rest of them, standing stiff and still as they stared out toward the river. "What the hell happened!" he demanded, gesturing helplessly around the field.

Koshi's gaze was unfocused when he turned his head in the healer's direction and whispered quietly, "A lover's quarrel."

"What! What nonsense are you babbling, Koshi?" the healer demanded, fists clenching up.

But neither answered him, and, slowly, moving as one, Koshi and Shisuki turned and walked back toward the village, leaving the villagers to gawk at the dead samurai and the pools of blood and red-tinted mud that dirtied their fields.

Dazed and frightened at the scene of the slaughter the villagers never gathered the courage to chase after the missing Shard-hunters at all.

* * *

Some distance away as the night wore on, the demon slayer, the monk, the schoolgirl, the once more tiny fire-cat demon, the kitsune youkai, and the bleeding inuhanyou made camp, thanking whatever deities they chose to worship for their escape from the village, and praying that their wounded companion would recover swiftly. But even as Kagome and Sango worked to clean and bandage his wound the hanyou's future didn't look very certain. 

Shippo and Miroku tended the fire, their faces silent, gray and grave. The unspoken fear of Death's presence hovered over them. The fire was larger, hotter, and more powerful than usual, as if the heat and light might scare away such intangible threats as Death.

Inuyasha's coughing was weak but persistent, and always he brought up blood. As the girls worked it was a struggle, a torture for the hanyou to even draw breath. His body was pale and covered in a chilled sweat.

Kagome cried silently as they wrapped his wounds. "It must've been through his lungs…" she whispered, her hands shaking as she passed the bandahes toward Sango. Slowly the demon slayer nodded, but she didn't meet Kagome's worried gaze, her lips were white with how tightly she held them together, as if fighting back words she didn't want heard.

"Should we pull the arrow out…?" now Sango looked from Miroku as he tended the fire to Kagome, but neither was sure of the answer. In the quiet only the fire could be heard crackling, aside from Inuyasha's labored, wheezing breaths. And then the hanyou gave a ragged retching sound and the others all carefully looked away, not wanting to see the bloody spittle he coughed up.

It was Shippo who answered their question, "No, leave it. If you pull it out too soon he'll lose more blood."

Kagome frowned and tried to protest, unsure of the tiny kitsune's logic, "But—"

"Shippo's right, Kagome." Miroku murmured quietly, "Inuyasha's body will heal around the arrow and later we'll pull it out and he will finish healing. But for now the arrow acts as a clot…" she nodded and one last thought flitted through her, _if it's punctured a lung and we pull it out the lung will collapse_…she rejoined Sango as they continued to wrap.

The silence of the night dragged onward, as did the answer to the group's primary question: would Inuyasha live or die?

* * *

Endnote: CONGRATULATIONS to _**Tiamath**_who was the official 200th reviewer! YAYS! (throws a big party and lifts Tiamath onto a big throne) THANK YOU! 

THANK YOU ALL: **_toxiclollipop_** _**Yami Chikara**_ (please don't boycott me! I update as soon as I can! None of the others (at least none of my favorites anyway) ever do!) _**SerenaClearwater**_ _**cool-chick-rae**_ _**lost and alone Taeniaea LukeShaehl Missyblue**_(I have my "Hanyou" story finished as well as it's sequel taking off, everyone's mad at me for the cliffies right now, but I also have one that's new called "I Miss You" that will eventually get really good (I hope) too, and later there will be another sequel or companion if you will to "Hanyou" which will be all about Rin and Sesshy, and I also have two more ideas in the works, maybe even three...but suggestions are always welcome) _**agent-doo Pyrinsomniac**_(sorry it wasn't Inu that killed Namaru...but Kag had to have some revenge too (grins) and I LOVE Miroku!) _**toots **_(sorry...though if someone weird kissed me outta the blue and I was already in love with someone else, I'd be too freaked out to be nice, but that's just me...) _**BeccaPatty**_(Haha! You still remind me of my friend Becca from my gym class (BIG Grin!) I Need another chappy NOW gleep-bleepity-bleep! Hehe!) _**Simonkal of Inuy**_ (hello you! I know you! (smirks)) _**D-Chan3**_ (sorry no..the way I figure it is that they help protect her becuase she's sorta chosen...) _**Lady-Sttar Flamesofthemo0n sveta89 freekazekagura**_ (THANK YOU! But sadly I'm mostly grown up already and although I'm pretty good getting published is difficult...thanks for supporting me though! Someday, you know, in my dreams...I'll tell you guys if I do kay?(winks)) _**souless one**_ (thank you! I do try, sometimes I feel repetitive tho (blush)) _**inuyasha'sbabe07**_ (Thank you! Good to have you back!) _**Rinelwin Ashley Lena17 or Hikaru1617 **_(You never bother me!(snickers))

Sorry to admit but I don't have enough of an epilogue done to give you a preview so I just get to go post now...enjoy all! Everyone really turned out this last chapter to review an give this story a good showing! (grins proudly) I hope that you'll all check out my next projects whenever they come and I hope to continue pleasing you with my writing for a long time to come! THANK YOU! Until next update...


	21. Breathe Through The Pain

**Disc:** Nope...Don't own any of the characters of the manga/anime or the lyrics, those are Matchbox 20's again...

**A/N:** Well...I'm surprised that I managed to make this update! I had like nothing written on it even as late as yesterday. Wow! I don't know if it's any good for something turned out with such speed...and you may note that I made an error...This is NOT the epilogue guys! You're going to have this "extra" chapter becuase as it was flowing out of me (that's what stories are like sometimes, just flow like a spring) I realized I had more to write than just an epilogue would allow. So you get this extra finishing chapter. The next chapter will be the epilogue...and it might be shorter than everything else, depends on what my reviewers tell me to put into it...that's right...YOU guys can tell me...this one is 14 pages (sighs) it just made itself long again...it might have more mistakes b/c I'm being lazy and not proofreading everything again...but I DO have to go through and italic everything (it seems to eat my italics now) and add the dividing lines and all. Kay...Inu's waking (YES! He's going to live guys!) I tried to make humorous, and as is typical of him when he's gone full demon and wild his memory is a little on the fritz at first...anyway, my new running gag is the in light of the fact that Inu is short of breath thank you Koshi's arrow from last chapter. You'll see...kay, nextly (I know it's not a word!) Suki sings a song here...I actually looked up an English folk song and took the lyrics, it's called "I know where I'm goin'" and it's real...the man's name in the song is supposed to be "Johnny" so when you get there you can chuckle at me b/c I leave it out b/c obviously Johnny isn't a Japanese name...(coughcough) and _**LASTLY**_! For those of you lamenting that this story is about to be over I have TWO others I am writing at the same time: _"I Miss You" _and _"With Our Arms Wide Open."_ WOAWO is a sequel so you have double the reading in front of you, but if you read _I Miss You_ which is my latest and review that one I'd be MOST pleased! (bows to her reviewers) But thank you again! ALL of you! On with the fic!

**

* * *

****Breathe Through The Pain**

_"Yes there's times I've been afraid_

_And there's no harm in that I pray_

_'Cause I'm more frightened everyday_

_Someone will take the hope I have away…"_

* * *

The breathing was slow, shallow, and pained. The firelight flickered unceasingly while she stared at Inuyasha's chest, watching the slow puffs, in and out, in and out…a few times she saw him shudder and attempt to cough, and after each try he'd fall utterly silent for a few moments…and each time the young woman found herself stiffening with horror. 

_You can't die…don't leave me…_

Yet, despite her fears, each time the hanyou would once more shiver back to life, inhaling shallowly the precious oxygen that he needed to live. And slowly she started to realize that as the hours passed the rise and fall of his powerful chest was growing steadier, deeper. The attempts at coughing lessened. Soon the rate was as even as ever, as steady almost as her own. There was nothing to make her think he was anything but asleep for the most part, except for the damned arrow sticking so cruelly from his ribs.

A voice startled her into blinking and turning her gaze away. She didn't know how long it had been since she'd moved her head or her eyes, but her body knew that it'd been a long time. Her eyeballs ached at the sudden movement, her neck tightened with a brief stabbing pain. Her own body's needs were slowly rising above the fears her own soul had, willing her to stay awake to watch after Inuyasha's wellbeing.

It was Sango who'd spoken, her voice soft and gentle, like a mother's caress. "Kagome? You're still awake?"

Slowly she nodded, "Hai."

The demon slayer, who was laying comfortably beside Miroku, with Kilala curled in the crook of her legs and waist and Shippo sleeping between her and the monk, an obvious ploy to avoid the slight chill, sighed gently. A tiny, tired smile graced her face as the chocolaty brown eyes fell on Inuyasha's steadily breathing form.

"I think you can sleep now, Kagome—he's going to live." She whispered, confidently.

Although Kagome was beginning to suspect that that was indeed true, she didn't trust the hanyou not to slip away if she closed her eyes. If death were to slink into the impromptu camp while she slept and steal Inuyasha from her, she'd never be able to forgive her lapse. If death came for her hanyou she planned to fight it or offer herself up in his stead…

"I want to stay awake for him…"

"He won't wake anytime soon, Kagome, but you know if he was awake he'd want you to sleep too…"

The girl looked away from Sango and back toward her hanyou, watching in silence as the wheezy, but steady breaths were drawn and released. The powerful diaphragm flexing the injured muscles despite enormous pain and discomfort. Kagome's eyes shifted along the shaft of the arrow that had caused the half-demon so much grief, and she winced.

"Sango…" she whispered.

"Yes?" came the answer, equally quiet.

"I'll never be able to sleep you know…" she fought the tears, "Not when he's still like this."

She heard Sango's soft breath, a tiny utterance of understanding that was filled with emotion. The demon slayer sat up, twisting to look at Kagome a little better. When their gazes met Sango smiled, tears sparkling in her own eyes. "You know, Kagome," she murmured, "I thought the same thing about you when you were still delirious with fever in the village." She shook her head, "I just kept thinking of how it felt when you'd been ripped from us the first time so suddenly…" her voice caught, "I've felt that sort of thing before," both of them knew she was speaking of Naraku's cruelty when he'd slain her family in front of her using her little brother, "And I _never_ want to feel it again…"

Kagome finished her friend's heavy words for her, "Not without saying goodbye, first?" she whispered.

"Yes." She gave a tiny laugh, "So I know what you mean…"

"Sango?"

"Yes, Kagome?"

She paused, her gaze lingering once more on the hanyou who meant so much to her. "Why did he kill those samurais…?"

The demon slayer's expression clouded instantly and she looked toward the unconscious hanyou, her face unreadable. "Kagome…" she bit her lower lip as if stopping the words from flying out of her mouth and seemed to rethink the problem before risking further utterances, "Sometimes, Kagome, I think that you are the only one that keeps us all together."

The schoolgirl frowned, confusedly, "What?" neither of them missed the meaningful look that Kagome's eyes left on Miroku. It was a silent thought shared by both girls: _Miroku helps keep Sango here_…but despite the amusement that flickered in Kagome's eyes, Sango was not so easily playful.

"Without you, Kagome, Shippo is miserable, I am lonely, Miroku is uncomfortable with leading, and Inuyasha…" both girls' eyes flew to the hanyou as he shuddered in his sleep once before settling once again.

Kagome whispered his name to herself, shuddering in some unnamable, mysterious emotion, "Inuyasha…"

Sango turned back to her friend with an immense sadness in her eyes, heavy as the rain clouds before they burst and send their precious waters over the land, "Kagome," she breathed the other girl's name softly, "Without you he went crazy. He just left us, and didn't come back." She shook her head; "I don't think he ever would've come back if fate hadn't reunited him with you."

Kagome's cheeks brightened with something close to a blush and her gaze lingered once more on the still sick and sleeping hanyou, "I didn't know I meant that much to him…"

Abruptly Sango snorted and laughed a little, drawing the other girl's attention with a snap of her neck muscles. "What's funny?"

"Kagome—how can you be so blind?" the demon slayer demanded, through a thick grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Miroku jerked in his sleep and lifted his head, looking around blearily at the sound of their voices. Immediately Sango and Kagome turned away, sliding into themselves and pretending that they hadn't been talking. But it was too late.

"How's Kagome blind?" he asked, groggily.

Although she tried to hide it both the schoolgirl and the monk could see Sango's blush. "I was saying, Miroku," she began, clearing her throat, "That Kagome is blind to the obvious fact that Inuyasha…" her voice drifted and then died…

Only to be picked up and finished accurately by the monk, "That Inuyasha loves her?"

Sango didn't answer, but Kagome made a choking sound, staring in horror at the sleeping hanyou, as if she feared that he could hear them, and then looking back to Miroku with a terrified, confused expression. Finally she hissed at him, "How could you _say _something like that Miroku? What if he heard it? He'd never stop teasing me for it!"

"I wish he _had_, then maybe he'd surprise you." The monk sighed as he settled back down and snaked one hand around Sango's waist, trying to pull her closer to him, "It's too cold to sleep alone…" he murmured softly in her ear…only to receive a backhanded slap to the face.

"You'll live." Sango growled.

As the couple continued to argue Kagome stared at Inuyasha's silent body, wondering if they could be right…_but doesn't Inuyasha always insist that he still loves and worships Kikyo? That's what I've always thought…_she remembered Koshi's face as he'd told her of what Inuyasha had done that had forced such deep fear and terror inside the villagers' minds. _He killed samurais_…but why? What had driven him to do it? He hadn't been provoked she assumed, and he was alone when it'd happened. The thought struck her: _alone_…

Despite Inuyasha's callous appearance he was not fond of being unloved or unwanted or of being alone. She easily remembered that when she'd first met him as a bitter, angry, wild thing he'd tried to kill her for the Jewel…or was there _more_ to it? Perhaps her resemblance and scent-likeness had made the hanyou even bitterer upon waking that he had wanted to lash out at her…but although he'd said he would kill her he hadn't actually done it—just tried to take the shards. Maybe he wouldn't have been _able_ to make himself kill her because of her resemblance to the girl that he somehow still loved, deep inside…

But she doubted it…and at any rate, those were his feelings for Kikyo, _not_ her!

And yet the thoughts wouldn't leave her mind…

It was nearly dawn by the time she finally nodded off into a deep, exhausted sleep. Only a few feet away, next to the smoldering remains of the fire, Inuyasha's body was warm and breathing steadily. In his feverish, confused dreams he was searching for the girl that haunted his memories—_his_ Kagome.

* * *

In the afternoon of the following day Inuyasha stirred, regaining consciousness enough to blink open his golden eyes and to hear the sounds of his companions just behind him. Thus it made sense that he started to roll over, his memory was foggy, his senses blurred, but rolling over was not the wisest thing for him to do, though in his delirious mind there wasn't a problem with it. His brain had yet to register the tingling electrical transmittance of the nerves located in his ribs and lungs that would've told him—had he waited a second longer—that there was a nasty foreign object lodged happily in his flesh. 

He rolled over nonetheless and received quite a wake-up call.

The weight of his body pressing down on the arrow shaft in his side cracked the thin but deadly wood audibly, catching the attention of his companions, human and youkai alike. Well, if the snap of the arrow as it jerked and pushed a tad further into the hanyou's side didn't make them turn their heads his way then Inuyasha's resulting scream of agony certainly _did_. Immediately three humans and two youkai rushed over to push the hanyou back onto his stomach the way he'd woken up.

"What the _hell_…is going on!" Inuyasha gasped and wheezed through his pain—his left side felt as if it were on fire! The others clamored about him—Kagome on his left, Sango on his right, Miroku somewhere further back and Shippo was planted on his butt—or at least he _thought_ it was Shippo, it could've been Kilala, or even Miroku's right hand for all he knew…the thought forced out deep growl that ended in a pathetic cough as his left lung protested and tried to deflate like a saggy balloon. The pain shot through him, and although he could hear the others babbling away, probably feeding him nice words and answers, he couldn't focus well enough to understand them. Why was he in such pain?

He reached one clawed hand out; pawing at his left side, only to find that something warm and surprisingly strong caught it and ceased his foraging exploration. Frustrated he twisted his head that way and found Kagome, staring down at him as if she were his mother, the calm and gentle façade over her face enough to tell him that something was wrong—though the pain told him that well enough! His ears sank backward and he moaned as much as the pain in his left side would allow him to do. "What the _hell_…" his voice died and became a weak wheeze as he struggled to breathe again, "…happened to me…Naraku?" he asked, feebly. His memory was on the fritz. He remembered a village, a few men in suspiciously samurai-like armor…but everything else seemed gone. He sensed, deep within him, something of great pain—not the type of pain that now rippled through his ribs and left lung—but instead the pain of misery, of loneliness, of loss…

As if she could read his thoughts Kagome's hand squeezed his own and Inuyasha blinked, staring hard at her until he could make out her clear and surprisingly genuine smile at him. _That's funny, usually when I do something and get myself hurt she's not so happy…did we kill Naraku? No that's not possible, I'd remember **that**…_he let his head sink to be supported completely by the hard ground and tried to focus on the world outside him again…aside fromKagome's lovely face there was alsoa hand on his shoulder—Sango's. Shewas speaking to him.

"What?" he breathed, the sound coming out more of a gasp than anything else.

"I asked if you can breathe all right, Inuyasha?" her voice seemed right in his ear and he cringed.

"Yes! Let me the hell up!" he choked out with one painful but full breath.

"Do you remember what happened?" this time it was Miroku, whose voice filtered in from somewhere behind him and to the right—next to Sango he supposed. Always near enough for a quick grab…he wanted to snort with a "Feh!" but he knew it would hurt too much and the resulting satisfaction wasn't really worth it.

"No." he admitted, his voice wheezing again. _Damn it all!_ Whatever had left him this way had done its job well. How long had he been out? A wound to the lungs…he tried to remember if he'd had such a wound before and came up empty. Yet that didn't mean anything, he'd wounded everything at one time or another and by human standards should've been dead years ago. But his youkai half was a lot tougher and designed for such wounds and more. His vital organs could regenerate easily—they worked a lot like muscles did when they were stretched. The place that had been harmed was repaired and likely made thicker than it had been before, like a callous. Callous lungs…he decided to ask something that he felt abruptly was very important, "How long…?"

"Only since yesterday." That was Shippo's voice, and for once Inuyasha didn't want to hit the little annoying youkai kit. If he'd had the lung capacity he would've sighed, but because he didn't he simply closed his eyes with relief. _If it's only been since yesterday then I'm healing pretty fast…_a punch through the left lung—in three days he guessed he'd be up and breathing with only minor pain…

He started to push himself up, but immediately felt his companion's worried hands all over him. With a scowl—but for once without a growl or a snarling word—he swatted their hands away. He heard them move away from him a little, giving him space—all but Kagome. She remained on his right side, watching him with her dark, intense gaze, full of concern. The moment he sat up he felt a terrible tickle in his lungs and started to hack, though the pain with such movements made him cringe and wince in agony. _Damn my stupid lungs!_

A few hacks later and they were all around him again, trying to encourage him or get him to lie back down and Inuyasha scowled and glared daggers at them even through his pain. Yet when the coughing fit had left him Inuyasha found that he had a mouthful of _very_ gross gunk—and it tasted like blood. The others were watching him with concern and before he could even consider the action's consequences he'd _swallowed_ the gunk. After all, when one is wounded every little bit of nutrition helps—so why waste what the body has already made as waste? But the others all appeared uncomfortable suddenly, which only angered the hanyou more. "Back off!" he barked, forcing his voice to be strong and steady.

They did—even Kagome gave him space this time. Satisfied Inuyasha peered down at his left side for the first time and gawked. Through the bandages he saw half of a shaft of an arrow burrowed into his side. _"Damn it!"_ he hissed in a mixture of anger and astonishment. He reached to pull the thing out and the others rushed in to stop him, each shouting in the negative.

"Inuyasha—wait, stop!"

"No, don't pull it out!"

"Don't do that! Inuyasha!"

He glared at them, his fingers wrapped around the arrow shaft. "Are you blind?" he snarled, and then gave way to a fit of coughing that produced yet another mass of what tasted like dried blood. Once more he swallowed, making his companions grimace.

"Inuyasha, if you pull it out you'll probably start bleeding again…" it was Sango's voice, from his right side.

And from his left Kagome was nodding, "And I think your lung might collapse."

The hanyou scoffed, unimpressed with their worry. _Stupid women—I bleed all the time. And to think that I wouldn't be able to manage on **one** lung!_ Without another thought he closed his fist tightly around the arrow and wrenched it out of him, biting the insides of his cheeks to avoid screaming at the fresh pain. Screams erupted around him and he felt hands touching him, several of which were trying to pry his fingers from the offending arrow—but it was too late.

In a few seconds there was a small trickle of blood oozing from the arrow's entry wound and Inuyasha started shredding the wimpy string of wood to distract himself from the terrible pain that was rushing through him, as well as the lightheadedness…

The others waited, their eyes wide with fear and worry, but there was nothing that they could do any longer. If Inuyasha died drowning in his own blood with a collapsed lung they couldn't fix him. There was no way to do that in fifteenth century Japan.

But despite their fears Inuyasha actually started to look better—despite the blood that was coming steadily from his side again. After the first few minutes, during which the hanyou held his breath, he started to inhale again. They were tiny breaths and never very deep, but somehow he took them, anyway, and even managed to glare at them murderously while he did it. The amber eyes were tight with intense pain at first but by the time the arrow's sliver of wood was broken into tiny pieces by Inuyasha's claws, the hanyou looked considerably more comfortable. His breaths suddenly became deeper and quicker—not normal but certainly closer to normal, and his pain seemed to have diminished greatly.

"Inuyasha…?" Kagome asked, timidly from his side.

He looked at her, focusing carefully through his remaining blur of pain and barked shortly, "What?"

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Duh!" he stopped and took in another of those shallow but deep breaths and spoke again, looking from one friend to another, "One thing…" he took another wheezy breath, "Did I kill…" another breath, "The bastard…?"

There was a brief pause as they realized what he was asking and then, before they could stop themselves they burst out laughing, worry was erased. Inuyasha was going to live if he had the state of mind to bother with whether or not he had managed to kill the person that had left him so wounded. Through their laughter they didn't see how angry the hanyou was getting, his amber eyes darting from one companion to another, his fists clenching. He couldn't growl _and_ speak too—there wasn't enough lung capacity. But he certainly _could_ glare, and he made good use of it.

"Did I?" he demanded, snarling as best he could on only one useable lung.

Miroku and Sango were still too busy laughing with Shippo to answer but Kagome managed to sober herself enough to answer him—although untruthfully—with a silent nod.

Satisfied, Inuyasha huffed briefly once, and tried to cross his arms, but stopped when he realized that that both hurt his ribs and decreased his chest space. Frowning in misery he continued to glare at them and wondered what had happened to him—to _them?_ Everything seemed normal but something deep inside him whispered that it wasn't…_why don't I remember? _He asked himself, and then nearly shivered despite his burning pain at the responding thought: _maybe you don't want to…_

He bonked Shippo on the head to distract himself—knowing full well that Kagome would never sit him when he was so wounded. Thus when Shippo whined and bounded to his protector Inuyasha managed to grin triumphantly as the laughter around him ceased. _And it's about time too, he thought, there's only so much being laughed at that a guy can take!_

* * *

Koshi notched the arrow carefully and lifted the bow, taking careful aim. More than a hundred feet away the tree with the target—which he'd drawn there himself earlier in the day with charcoal from Mijai's fire—whispered in the wind. The youth paused, the bowstring taut, the arrow ready and aimed…and his mind wandered. 

It'd been nearly three whole days since the night that he'd scored a decent hit to the Red Demon's lungs. Of course when he'd been aiming the shot he'd meant to slice through straight to the demon's heart. He had heard that demons were mortal to a certain extent—after all, if they were truly immortal like gods, why would there be demon slayers? Yet still he couldn't shake off the feeling that the Red Demon was still alive somewhere…and although he had let Sakana and Kagome go, along with all of their strange friends, Koshi still felt as though he had failed himself, and the samurais that had died…

_My shot would've felled a mortal easily..._He assured himself and suddenly he bowstring tugged itself free of his fingertips and went flying through the air with its typical whirring sound. There was a _thunk_ when it hit the tree—not on the target at all but slightly farther left of it along one of the tree's branches. _Yes, slightly left_… he sighed, knowing that the arrow that had been aimed for the Red Demon's heart had gone slightly left too, missing the perfect alignment that would've sliced through the edge of the left lung and burrowed through the left ventricle and right atria of the heart instead, coming out it was likely at the right collarbone. Instead his arrow had whizzed too far back and to the left side of the demon. It must've ripped right through the lung on that side…

_If I were right handed and not left handed then just maybe_… but Fate had given him a dominant left, and had bestowed a useless right. He could never change it.

Frowning, he reached back behind his shoulder for another arrow and notched it…

A small, high pitch girl's voice reached him, making his hands quiver and weaken…the arrow lost its perfected position, the bow lowered. Koshi turned his head, glancing behind him. Just through the trees he could make out the spot where the women washed their laundry in the river. When he'd come it was empty, but now he saw that while he'd been practicing someone had made her way down to wash clothes…and he knew this someone.

The girl's dark eyes, pretty and sweet smile, her long, straight black hair that flowed down and over her shoulders, like a black waterfall, all teased him, made his muscles twitch. He watched her lowering fabrics into the water, watched her begin to gently run her delicate fingers over the folds of kimonos and haoris and hakama pants…and he was nailed where he was, just as firmly as any arrow lodged in either wood or flesh or stone, by the sound of her sweet, wavering voice.

_Does she know that I'm here?_ He wondered, and as her song continued he listened, and realized with a jolt that she didn't.

_"I know where I'm goin' and I know who's goin' with me  
I know who I love and my dear knows who I'll marry…"_

She stopped, staring out over the river and pausing in both her simple song and the task of washing the clothing. Her dark eyes strayed over where he was through the brush that separated him from the river, but although Koshi stiffened and prepared to be caught watching her she didn't seem to see him. Her eyes passed right over him and there was no sign in her face that she had seen him at all. So Koshi remained where he was, straining intently should she begin to sing again.

After a moment the girl resumed working on the clothing, but it was absently, and she seemed not to be there at that spot mentally. She was actually elsewhere, thinking about someone or something else. Her eyes were misted over as she worked over the fabrics, kneeling in her simple peasant's kimono—which happened to expose her milk-colored legs, making Koshi sweat.

_When did I start feeling this way about…Shisuki_? She was only a girl, it was true, there was no use in denying that, but she was beautiful, and she was sweet natured, just as Sakana had been. It was just such a nature that he loved. The arrows were completely forgotten at his side as the girl at the river below took up her song anew…

_"Some say he's poor, but I say that he's bonnie  
Fairest of them all is my handsome winsome…"_

She lifted her eyes again looked about, her face flushed red. Once more her gaze briushed past him and once more she failed to see him. Perhaps she sensed someone's presence nonetheless? Koshi hardly dared to breathe lest it disturb her last word of song…but as the seconds passed it seemed clear that she wouldn't finish the lyrics, whatever man's name was in it. He was about to try and creep away so as not to embarrass her by revealing himself, when he heard her let out a long and heavy sigh. His eyes and attention were immediately drawn back to 'Suki.

Shisuki was wringing out the haori she had been washing, her knuckles were so pressured that Koshi could see them bleach white even from so far away. A moment later she jumped to her feet and flapped the material in the wind before placing it back in the basket that she'd brought with her to the river, folded neatly but still clearly damp. When that task was done she lingered, staring at the river again and sighed out one single name, _"Koshi…"_

He waited, watching her intently. Sure enough a moment later the girl sat back down and gazed at her reflection in the bright water, squinting in something that looked like disgust. Her voice was quiet when she spoke to herself again, "I'm almost as pretty as Sakana was…why can't he see me? Mother says that any young man in the village will want me in a year—but…" her vice died and with sudden vehemence she slapped the water's surface and turned back to the clothes with much more vigor, taking out her frustrations there it seemed.

Koshi felt himself release a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as the girl resumed her work. His mind was spinning._ I barely know her_…he thought, _but I'd love to court her_…he felt his jaw set hard as a rock and nodded silently as if agreeing to himself, coming to a decision. _I'll speak to her father this evening, I'll beg him if I have to!_ A different side of him rose up, discouraging him for a moment: _you have no money, you could never provide for her and her father will laugh in your face…_he felt his heart sink. That was true…but a revelation struck him in the same moment: _I could work for Shisuki's father and family. It would save me from the samurais when they come to check on this village and it would give me a place to belong…_

Carefully, cautiously, he turned his back to the river and slunk away through the brush, leaving Shisuki to her frustrated work. _Soon_, he promised her silently, _soon you and I will drink sake together and let the gods smile on our union…perhaps Fate has aligned everything more perfectly than I first thought_…he had lost a father to the Red Demon in exchange for the promise of a permanent family, a permanent home.

In a small way he was thankful suddenly to the Red Demon, for just as the maple leaves in the fall turned brilliantly red in the fall before they tumbled away free in the wind, so too had Koshi freed himself from the samurais. Fate had provided…it wasn't Sakana he had come to the village for, it was freedom and the girl that somewhere behind him was still washing clothes in the river…

_Beautiful 'Suki…_

* * *

He had never been more relieved to see the old hag _ever._

For a week they'd traveled steadily in that direction, all of them putting in the last extra effort to get their destination—because once they got there all of them knew that a giant rest was in order. Kagome would go to visit her family for a time, making sure to bring back lots of Ramen and chocolate for Inuyasha and Shippo, and anything else that she thought might catch Sango or Miroku, or Kilala's fancies. The monk and the demon slayer would relax until cabin fever drove them to head their separate ways—Sango to the demon slayer's village to honor her family's gravesites, and Miroku to the temple where he had been trained to perhaps purify himself (not that it ever worked). Shippo would probably entertain himself by annoying Inuyasha or playing with Kilala as well as learning from Kaede.

And Inuyasha…of course he couldn't ever do anything except agitate about their lack of activity, although throughout the journey to Kaede's the hanyou was remarkably quiet. Whether this was due to pain from his wound, lack of air, or maybe some emotional turmoil none of them could venture to guess. For once he didn't lead the group and tended to look as if he were near to passing out. The others kept a slower pace than usual for him—a thing that was unheard of until that moment. When they thought he wasn't looking all of them threw his nervous glances, usually to catch his angry glare right back. It appeared that although his spirit was willing his body just was not. They might've worried about him but because he showed no sign of deathly illness they assumed he was fine.

In reality the hanyou was recovering as best as one could—on just _one _lung. The stress that his body had to endure without the other half of its respiratory system to oxygenate his blood was enormous, slowing his recovery. Also, unusually, Inuyasha actually worried, silent as he was, whether his left lung would recover again or not. He doubted that Kaede could help him much but it was worth a shot, and at the very least he _could_ rest…it was _hideously_ embarrassing to him that he had trouble keeping up with his companions. He'd always prided himself on his strength and speed, and now one, perhaps both, had been compromised. He feared attack continuously as they traveled back, but for once luck was with them and the group arrived at Kaede's without incident.

That was how Inuyasha soon found himself under the prodding, invasive, dried and shriveled up old hands of the hag. He cursed his failed left lung for limiting his growling and snarling and speech abilities. It made the hag's task easier because he couldn't curse her so effectively, _and_ it was, apparently, entertaining for the others to watch because they were once again laughing at him.

"Ow!" he raged, slapping at her probing hands, he wanted to curse her too but that one very loud exclamation had taken up too much air and he had to breathe again before he could speak, "Stop it witch!" another breath as Kaede frowned at him and the others sniggled quietly, pretending they weren't watching, _"Damn you!"_

"The wound has healed well outside, Inuyasha," Kaede nodded positively, the fingers of one hand digging through the layers of his bandages, the other holding up his weakened left arm away from his ribs. Inuyasha wanted to clobber her with it. "But on the inside…" she sighed and withdrew, scrutinizing his shirtless chest as if he were a fish that she thought might just be too small to eat, as if she might throw him back out into the lake, a hook still in his lip.

"Brainless hag!" he choked out and stifled a small cough. _Damn that lung! Haven't I coughed enough already! _"You're telling me…" he paused to refill his single lung, "Nothing new—and it's…" more breathing, "Really damn annoying!"

He threw Miroku, Sango, Kagome, Shippo and Kilala a combined dirty glare as their sniggles reached his ears. The silent promise in his glares lately had been honed and perfected. He could pin each of them just right enough that it would wipe the grins from their faces. He'd learned to do this during their long nights together on the trip home when his difficulty speaking became most obvious. Now he tried it, moving down the line until all of them were silent once more.

Kaede reclaimed his attention then with a long and loud sigh—which seemed to Inuyasha to be a mocking thing because he himself couldn't do it… "Ye will just have to rest, Inuyasha, until the wound heals completely."

He rolled his amber eyes skyward and tried to rise to his feet from the futon she'd lie out for him, but Kaede held her hand out in front of him sternly, "Inuyasha—did ye not just hear what I said?"

Inuyasha barked out a short answer, the only thing he was capable of doing right now, "Piss off!" again the tickle rattled in his left lung. _Damn it! Well, at least it doesn't hurt so bloody bad anymore…_

"Inuyasha," Miroku spoke now with a sigh in his even voice, "It's late—where do you expect to go anyway?" it was a reasonable question and Inuyasha knew that he'd end up sleeping in the corner anyway, and it didn't really bother him at all, but he couldn't go down without a fight or he just wouldn't be Inuyasha.

"Stay here and sleep with the rest of us." Miroku finished, shifting the staff from one shoulder to the other, making it jangle pleasantly in the small space. Inuyasha caught a glance from the demon slayer to the monk, filled with suspicion. Miroku had just freed up his right hand which, besides being "cursed" was also the closest to Sango. The demon slayer edged away from him slightly, though Miroku appeared not to notice at all.

The hanyou couldn't help but smirk at their antics. His eyes slid to Kagome and he noticed that she was already staring at him, smiling faintly. _It won't be bad sleeping in here at all…_

* * *

He woke gasping in the middle of the night, his chest tight with pain of multiple kinds. The muscle pain from the desperate flexing of his diaphragm as it tried to force him to inhale. The stabbing pain in his left lung where his body was still trying to mend the organ before he could breathe with it again. Yet also with a pain that wasn't physical but was just as grippingly painful as all the others. 

In the darkness his amber eyes adjusted until he made out the peaceful forms of his friends—_all_ of them. They were _all_ there…just to be certain he tried to scent them too, but it was a difficult task with the way his chest hurt so much. Was there danger? He paused, holding his breath for as long as he could stand it before he had to gasp pathetically again to recover, but it was long enough. There was nothing amiss…only himself and…the past…

In the week of travel he'd been far too tense to wonder what had happened that he couldn't remember. The pain in his chest and his difficulty with even simple speaking had taken up most of his thoughts during their journey home. He hadn't ever asked the others of what had happened and they seemed content to leave it that way for now during his recovery…only now it wouldn't be necessary, he _remembered…_

The pig demon, rushing at them, pinning Kagome between its terrible tusks and nothing but the thin air…the schoolgirl had chosen the air. He remembered rage, slaughtering the beast until there was nothing short of blood and guts left, the mangled parts of a once living creature, still steaming and warm. And then there was the grief. The mourning. Heavy and thick inside him it still lingered, like a parasite, sucking away his strength, his sanity. He had done things; he had been feral. Did the others know? He wasn't completely sure and the shame he felt outweighed the guilt. He wouldn't ask them. He would rather bury it…but…then there was the grief…

His mind was a boggled mess. Kagome was dead in his memories; he was wild with that knowledge. And then there was the village and a different girl who smelled like Kagome but was sure that she wasn't the schoolgirl that he knew…that he _loved_…and somewhere through that mass of confusion he had been wounded—he couldn't remember that, no matter how hard he tried—and woken to find everything nearly back to normal. It was almost as if he had dreamed the whole incidence…had he?

When Inuyasha forced himself, despite the pain, to take a long, deep breath he scented them all—even Kagome. They were all healthy and just as he remembered them before the pig demon that may or may not have attacked them…all except for Kagome. Her school uniform was gone. She had worn a simple white kimono on their way back instead of the short green skirt and white shirt of her time that normally covered her frame at all times…but the kimono wasn't really what bothered him. The schoolgirl had a way of sometimes losing her clothes in their adventures…he liked the thought that perhaps one day she'd lose her clothes _for him_…but that was_not_ the point.

The point was that the girl's _scent _as well as her clothes had changed. Her scent was full of stress hormones, a sign that she had been sick for sometime and weakened. He couldn't remember that having happened. How had she been weakened? When had she been sick? He couldn't answer these questions and yet the scent was there…

In his memories he had nearly lost her for good, nearly lost her to the nether regions of Death itself. As powerful as he was he didn't think that he could survive with his sanity if she left him like that again—so suddenly, without ever giving him the chance to—

But he buried the thought and settled back into his corner, choosing to lie on his stomach to further aide his lungs. _In the morning_…he thought with as much of a sigh as his pained lungs would allow, _in the morning I'll ask Kagome what **really** happened, and then…then I'll tell her how much I'd really miss her if it ever really **did** happen_…but even the thought of that small admission scared him witless. What would she say? What would she do? What if she figured him out and it made her uncomfortable? He shuddered and tried to force all thoughts away, calling the deep sleep that his body needed to heal him, up and out of the dark recesses of his conscious mind…

Minutes later he was asleep.

* * *

Endnote: YAYS! You guys are AWESOME! Thanks to you guys this little fic of mine is close to having some 250 reviews now would be my guess...I'll watch for the lucky 250th now...THANK YOU ALL! 

_**Pyrinsomniac**_ WOW! Thank you! _**sveta89, Taeniaea, cool-chick-rae**_ it's perfectly okay! It was you that solved this one for me as I recall (grins) I owe you more than you owe me silly! _**Missyblue **_Wow! Thank you! I got a lot of you telling me that this chapter was good (grins) don't know how besides the sudden action..._** Lady-Sttar**_ Yes...I mean part of her has got to understand grief, intense emotions make everyone act in ways that they wouldnt otherwise... _**SerenaClearwater**_ hehe...I know I went on a major cliffie splurge there...but now that I've had my fill of them I think my last update (WOAWO) and this one are FAR less cliffie-ish...but there can always be mre (winks) _**Yami Chikara**_ hehe...I'm glad you forgot! And you guys have even gotten another chapter out of it...I guess I'm feeling generous today too (snickers) _**Tiamath **_About your review of Was It All A Dream, (shakes head) You ARE loyal! I think I astounded myself when I wrote that one...all the blood and death and emotion and rage...(shudders) I like couldn't face it...I don't even know why I posted it! I will try, becuase you requested, to reread it and consider writing the conclusion (it was close to being done) but it's going to be tough...I promise nothing (sheepish grin) especially when their are happier fics here waiting for me... And yes, i could revisit Koshi and Suki yet again if you wish it...if enough of you wish it anyway, and see (grins) I didn't kill Inu! _**Lena17 **_updating is...(ponders) well let's just say I write ALOT, especially lately without play practice (which will change again sadly, I'll be forced back into it soon...) and it looks like I have the advantage in your quest to be irritating (grins and winks) I can leave CLIFFIES! (evil grin) _**toxiclollipop**_ Thank You! _**Unwary Hanyou**_ I LOVE your name! hehe...yes, I AM a slave to writing, seriously...but it's a loving slaving relationship... _**Psycho-PlayGirl**_ WOW! Thank you! I'm very glad to hear that! And happy to please! I just wish my own fav. authors and stories would update...(glares at her Favorites list muderously) b/c then at least I could have something else to do besides writing my own...ahh...my boredom is agood thing for you guys no? _**fanfiction1**_ THANKS! (squee!) I'm sorry your butt hurts though...(snickers) and I'm sorry I hurt Inu...blame it on my Adv. Bio class, I now, whenever I'm writing about his pain and his lungs I have the visual of our Fetal Pigs...(grins) lungs are squishy you know...(shudders)

I think that's it...if it isn't and I forgot someone I offer my sincerest apologees and offer up the chapter and it's decidedly un-cliffie-ness as a peace offering, and the promise of the next chapter. I have a schedule for my updates now...(grins) so I update a story everyday and I have three of them, so tomorrow it's _I Miss You_'s turn...please read and review that one...(whimpers) I'm always excited about something new, but I like to have you guys guide me too...sometimes the reviewer's opinion is the difference between whether I finish it or not of get writer's block or whatever...seriously! Again I must admit that I have no preview for you...(sheepish smile) but I DID make the update ontime! (grins proudly) and tomorrow I think Ishall make_ I Miss You_'s update too...well that;s all for now! Remember I'm watching fornumber 250 now! SQUEE! I think we can do it easy before the next chappie is ready (as soon as Weds guys!)...gotta go...


	22. Epilogue: Can't Live Without You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha but I DO, however, own the lines on this chapter this time...they're my poetry...

**A/N:** Sorry that this took so friggin long to get around to doing...but you know what? It's worth it now...(grins)...this week is basically shot. Monday night I had ANOTHER choir performance, then Tuesday I went to see a play at the college, then I had to attend a meeting after school hours until way after 6 o'clock. Then today I did Excellence in Ed a program in school that honors the top 15 students in each grade (high school...) they take us on a tour of the local hospital and then feed us pizza and give us awards, a certificate and a medal thingy...yea...anyway...and THEN Saturday is the PROM! So you see that this week has been shot as for normal thinking/writing/and posting processes are concerned. Yep...shot...but yesterday I DID manage to write most of this...and I finished it today...so here it is! The LONG AWAITED and anticipated epilogue...do you know what would be REALLY coold guys? If you could leave me 300 reviews for this story (grins sheepishly) as a "story-is ended" celebration? I do admit that enough pressure to add more stuff in a post-epilogue might just sway me BUT I make no promises...(clears throat) and now...**_lost and alone_** CONGRATS! You were number 250! YAYS! (surrounds **_lost and alone_** with lots of happy people and throws a big party complete with delicious virgin strawberry dacquiris and chocolate chocloate chip cookies...) there1 Now you're not lost or alone anymore...well, maybe still lost...but at least you found us! Anyway, enough of me babbling oh...a **_note: f-bomb dropped this chapter once _**I don't like using it unless emphasizing (in person I NEVER use it!) a character's emotions...I think where I use it will make you laugh...anyway...READ THE END OF SWFM! Then _**remember **_that I have numerous other stories that you might enjoy...and with this one over I'll soon be starting another...CHECK MY PROFILE if you want to have a say in which I decide to start...Bye for now!

**

* * *

Epilogue: Can't Live Without You**

_"I hunger for you_

_As the green earth does_

_For the light of the sun…"_

* * *

With the arrival of the sunlight Kagome stirred, jerking awake with a gasp. Her body was covered in a cold sweat; she shivered involuntarily and grimaced. When she shifted in the blankets about her they were wet, soiled with her body oils. _What was I dreaming?_ She wondered, frowning and fretting, pushing herself into a sitting position so she could look around. Everyone seemed to be sleeping…her eyes landed on Inuyasha, lying on his stomach in his usual corner, his breathing a little ragged. Even Inuyasha was asleep…_I could get away to the well, go home, shower_…she thought, and the idea stuck, despite its abrupt appearance. _Yes, a trip home is exactly what I need…_

The schoolgirl climbed weakly from her bed, a brief dizziness taking her as she stood. She frowned down at the stained, smeared, and damp white peasant's kimono she had been wearing for the past week. _Eew…I have **got** to get out of this thing_…

Her belongings had all disappeared in the river with her original fall of several weeks ago, so Kagome had nothing to gather up before she went—she just found a robe that would keep her warm against the early morning chill, and left. As she stepped out of the hut she failed to notice the slight movement behind her as the dog-eared hanyou in the corner lifted his head and blinked sleep away, the amber eyes immediately locking onto her white form as she vanished outside. As she slipped away, heading up the hill following the path that lead to the meadow where the Bone-Eater's well was waiting to take her home to a sweet-smelling shower, Kagome didn't see Inuyasha leave the hut too.

* * *

The schoolgirl reached the well easily, though by the time she had her feet were beginning to hurt from all of the pebbles that were so easily caught in her thong sandals. They were of the same sort of design as Miroku's, and Kagome was astonished to realize that the monk had lived with such shoes his entire life! Sango as well, when not in her demon slaying body suit, wore thin, simple sandals, much like the monk's. She wasn't accustomed to such footwear however, not by a long shot, and the trip home had been agony for her. Rocks and splinters and thorns seemed attracted to her defenseless feet while she was in the sandals, the _whole_ way back. Now was no different—but she walked with an extra spring to her step just at the thought of the soft carpeting in her room, in her era… 

When she leaned over the dark depths of the well, peering over its edges, she bit her lip, suddenly thinking about Inuyasha. The hanyou still hadn't shown any signs of remembering the terrible trauma that had happened in the village…or of how he'd managed to acquire his wounds. The latter of those two facts didn't really surprise her. Inuyasha had turned into a wild youkai in his instinct to survive when Koshi's arrow had pierced his side, and he never remembered those incidences.

_He doesn't remember killing anyone, not before he turned into a full-blooded youkai and not after it, not right now—he can't remember anything through his pain right now_…she knew that although Inuyasha never complained, refused to betray his weakened physical state to them in conversation, he was hurting. When he looked about sometimes she thought she saw confusion in his golden eyes, searching his friends' faces for an answer to a question that he may not have even known. But always the worry, confusion and amnesia resulting from his brief escapade as a full-blooded demon, faded into the background as the hanyou's physical body attacked him again. She'd seen, many a time on their journey back, Inuyasha struggling to stand up straight and breathe proudly…but it was a hard thing to manage. He did it alone, and silently. On the days when Kagome's feet had hurt so badly that she just wanted to collapse, she'd looked to Inuyasha on instinct, hoping he could carry her, and immediately forced the thought away. The hanyou was in no way able to offer such favors with one lung.

But it wasn't really these memories that made her look back. Neither was it that she'd sensed him peripherally. Instead it was with uncertainty that she turned her face into the wind and gazed back down the path, twisting away beyond where her eyes could see until it reached the village and Kaede's hut. In some way she was frightened of speaking to Inuyasha now that he was beginning to recover…what could she say? If he remembered his grief and his crimes against the samurais—no matter how bad most of them were—she didn't think she could bear the pain it would cause him. Somewhere inside she knew that Inuyasha's wild, untamed, feral side should've scared her senseless—but she couldn't deny that it didn't. What Inuyasha had done when Koshi had shot him hadn't frightened her—she accepted it as merely a thing that he did out of instinct. And it had worked; Inuyasha was alive and recovering from a wound that was fatal to mere mortals. And what he'd done to the samurais as a normal hanyou while he'd thought she was dead…?

Kagome turned her eyes away from the path and frowned, trying to bring up visions of such horror and gore. She tried to see her hanyou ripping through the samurais' camp, slashing, blood flying in wide splatter patterns, screams of terror and rage mingling in a scene out of a nasty war movie that her mother would've banned Souta from watching…she tried to see the red-robed, silver haired Inuyasha as anything but the stubborn, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, protective and ultimately endearing being that she'd known him to be for years now…

Kagome opened her eyes and sighed, her facial muscles relaxing. She just couldn't do it. In her memories she'd seen Inuyasha killing and fighting and cursing a million times over—she even remembered clearly when she'd first met him and he'd tried to steal the Shikon Jewel from her—but in every instance she'd never felt true fear for herself. Even when Inuyasha had chased her for the Jewel…his slashes had fallen short, his curses were weak. And when the Jewel had rolled away from her he'd abandoned her for it. She didn't think that his attacks could've been _genuinely_ as weak as they were. _Did he let me escape? Was he just trying to intimidate me so long ago?_

The breeze that swept past her now made the schoolgirl shiver. It was too cold to be pondering such things…it'd been too long since she'd seen her family…

Kagome grasped the edge of the well and threw herself over it, into its welcoming blackness. It absorbed her like an amoeba and spat her out again in the 21st century.

_Home…_

* * *

Inuyasha crossed the meadow to take his place beside the Bone Eater's well, contemplating the schoolgirl that had just disappeared into the invisible time that lingered in its depths. His claws clutched and dug into the wood of its sides, digging a little in his lingering frustration. _There's something going on here_…he'd watched her jump into the well—but only after she'd stood before it and waited, as if frozen. For a moment he'd wondered if perhaps Kaguya (A/N: second movie's villainess I think) had taken over Japan again and worked a reverse spell—capturing only Kagome this time, freezing the girl where she stood. 

But, much to his dismay, she'd turned backward, looking toward the village. Her eyes—and her scent he realized, through painful gulps of fresh air that the breeze provided, brushing past her and straight to him—had changed dramatically. It was full of mixed emotions, so many he had trouble discerning any of them. Kagome stood that way for a long time, while Inuyasha too had forced himself to be as still as stone, then finally she'd moved again, jumping into the well at last.

Only now did he move to follow her—and found himself having trouble doing just that. If he closed his eyes and focused all his senses on the air and the wood under his fingertips, Inuyasha could still _feel_ her. _Kagome_…he whispered within his mind, using it like a silent prayer. His lungs ached—but it wasn't his physical wound now that was causing it…_you'll never know how much I miss you when you jump through this damned thing. And now…it…hurts so much to think about losing you…I almost did…_

And not just to the other side of the Bone Eater's well…_forever._

_I saw you fall from the cliff. I heard your dying scream. I felt my insides dying with you. When you hit that water, I tasted it with you, and even as I tore that fucking pig demon apart I was dying, I was crying for you. We both died that day_…he gasped when a jolt of physical pain in his left lung as well as grief rippled through him, and Inuyasha stumbled back, ears flat against his head. _I always swore to protect you and that day I failed. I failed us both. For as much as I…_

He stopped, realizing the thought that was crossing through his mind, and blinked. Stunned, he shook his head, as if trying to clear it, or perhaps to deny it, though a part of him—a growing part actually—knew he couldn't rationally. _Yes, I was right…_he shivered a little, realizing the truth of his inner consciousness as well as the reality of his thoughts. _For as much as I **love** Kagome I can't really promise her tomorrow, I can't **really** save her from death…I can't save **myself** from suffering through life without her…_

With that truth what else was there but despair? He felt the forbidden tears assault him, stinging and burning with both shame and grief; he squeezed them shut and growled to himself, trying to bury the feelings. His muscles, body wide, shook with the effort. His breaths became even more ragged and winded. The hanyou's usually lusty skin color faded and paled.

And then the thought struck him from out of nowhere, as if it'd fallen from the inner perfections of heaven itself—and perhaps it had, for he later reflected on it and came to the self-diminishing epiphany that he was unable to think with such brilliance—Inuyasha's amber eyes burst open. The tears cleared abruptly and his lips hardened into a thin white line of determination. The glowing eyes slipped to the well and locked themselves on it.

_If I can't promise either one of us that there will be a tomorrow I'll just have to make it **today…**today and **every**day…_

He moved speedily toward the well and leapt into it without a second thought.

* * *

The water steamed like the jungles of Brazil in the heat of July. Kagome didn't spare herself one luxury this time. She'd set the water as hot as she could stand it, poured in the finest, sweetest smelling soaps, oils, and bubble bath mixtures, and then soaked herself in it for more than a half hour. She had to fight the drugging lure of sleep while she lied there, her head supported just barely by the edge of the tub, her toes stretching to twiddle the bubbles at the far opposite end of her little sliver of heaven…but nothing can last forever. 

Souta pounded on the door, uttering her name in a high, whiny voice, _"Kagome!"_

Her eyes slid open very slowly. Time seemed to pass with a lassitude that Kagome didn't mind at all. Bathroom time and family time weren't the same. Ten minutes in the bath was like an hour outside—and her little brother's kidneys had waited as long as they dared.

Before she could bring herself to answer in a reasonable "outside-the-bathroom" timeframe, Souta squeaked at her again. This time his voice was noticeably more urgent and Kagome's pleasure, heat-induced coma began to lift in reluctant stages.

_"Kagome! I gotta take a—"_ he paused, and the door rattled, banging against something that she thought was probably his head. He seemed to reevaluate his previous statement and choice of words, for which she was glad. The last word of that sentence would've likely made their mother red with anger.

_"Kagome!"_ he started again, _"I gotta pee REAL bad!"_

Slowly she sighed and pushed herself up and out of the foamy, sweet indulgence. Such pleasures just couldn't last forever. Life was always a mixture of good and bad. She winced as she realized that that too reminded her of Inuyasha…

_"Kagome!"_ Souta screamed outside the bathroom door, and the pounding came again, more violent and insistent than before, _"You're already pruny! I gotta PEE!"_ this cry was followed by a pathetic whimpering that made his older sister cringe.

"I'm coming Souta…" she frowned when she realized that her voice sounded dreamy and half-asleep. _Maybe it's a good thing that he has to pee, if I'd been in there any longer I could've fallen asleep and drowned…_at least that was a better way to go—far better than falling from a cliff after being cornered by a monstrous, smelly pig demon…

_"Hurry up!"_ Souta squeaked, and she thought she could hear the floorboards outside creaking as the boy squirmed, trying to find a position that relieved the pressure on his bladder with little success.

Kagome snatched her towel, smiling at the droplets of water and bubbles that trickled over her reddened flesh. She took a deep breath of the sweet smelling steam and sighed. _I don't do this enough…_

_"KAGOME!"_ Souta screamed, bumping the door again and Kagome woke abruptly into action, wrapping the towel around her body and then reaching toward the hanger on the back of the door to grab her robe…_there was no robe_…she almost cursed under her breath, smirking when she realized that was what Inuyasha would've done. Without a robe she'd have to walk out of the bathroom in nothing but the towel, which barely managed to cover her body's vital areas sufficiently. _Oh well Souta's just my brother…it's not like Inuyasha is here or anything and at the very least I'm not really naked…_

She heard Souta whimpering pitifully again, about to beg her all over again, and she reached for the knob. The misty steam swirled and blocked her view for a moment before Souta rushed passed her, barely throwing her barely covered form a glance before he'd pushed her out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Kagome lingered, still dripping and starting to shiver, for a moment and then, blinking, padded swiftly to her room.

From downstairs she heard her mother's voice calling, "Kagome? How do you want your eggs this morning, honey?"

Preoccupied with keeping her towel on, Kagome reached her room, pushed the door open with one hand behind her while turning to call back at her mother in the direction of the stairs. "Scrambled Mama, if it's okay?"

"It's fine honey!" her mother's cheery voice chirped in response.

"Thank you!" Kagome stepped backwards into her bedroom, shivering against a strange chill as she pushed the door shut, spun round and started to drop her towel—only to freeze when she both heard and sensed that she wasn't alone…

It'd been the sharp inhalation of breath that had caught her ear and thankfully stayed her hand. The towel remained where it was, protecting her modesty, while Kagome whirled around and stared at a very pallid, very wide-eyed hanyou. For a moment there was nothing but shock between them—and then Inuyasha's ears slid backward and his amber eyes narrowed slightly, his face turned so red it rivaled his Fire Rat robes. The blush was so thorough that it seemed to touch his ears and color them as well.

Kagome's voice was shaking when she spoke…her lips quivered, "Inuyasha…" panic and embarrassment took over and she closed her eyes and shouted with instinct, "SIT!"

Inuyasha immediately flattened onto her bed, his face smashed into the sheets and covers…and Kagome paled all over again, realizing that such punishment was unwise when he was only functioning on one lung. "Inuyasha! Oh no! I'm so _stupid!_ I'm sorry…" she rushed toward him, kneeling beside the bed, ready to cry if she saw pain in his face when he looked up…

Indeed when he looked up his features were crumpled with discomfort, his fangs bared silently, but the blush rose quickly again when his amber eyes opened and his nostrils flared, taking in her scent…Kagome bit her lip and backed away, her eyes quickly searching for her missing robe. When she caught sight of it she grabbed it and slipped it on, wordlessly removing most of the trouble between the two of them.

Inuyasha was relieved when she drew away—while at once he also regretted it. Kagome smelled beautiful, her hair shone with the moisture of her bath, her skin glowed with the warmth of it…and the hanyou felt an inner warmth of his own spread through his gut and rise to his face—creating the tremendous blush that sprawled over it like a mask. He was glad that Kagome couldn't see him trying to cover his embarrassment, as well as the underlying desire. He was also glad that she didn't see the way his amber eyes took in her shapes hungrily and yet helplessly. He was at the thoughtless control of his inner male instincts for a split second, and it was all he could do to turn his eyes away from her…but her scent continued despite the eyelids that covered his visual organs. He was convinced that the schoolgirl couldn't possibly smell bad. It was just against the very laws of nature. But as she turned back to face him, clothed in the simple pinkish robe, Inuyasha buried such thoughts.

He pushed himself up from where she'd flattened him on her bed, carefully, trying to avoid the pain in his left lung. Dimly he could feel it aching…but strangely when he was righted the thing felt better than it had before when he'd climbed, panting to his disgrace, up to her widow a few minutes ago. As he took a hesitant breath he blinked in mute surprise as _both _lungs filled with air. _Well it's about damn time_…he forced his realization away as Kagome met his gaze.

Her face was a strange mixture of worry for him—for having sat him he supposed—and keen embarrassment. "I'm really sorry Inuyasha…" she murmured, her eyes lingering on something on the carper that had suddenly become utterly fascinating. Inuyasha forced himself to scowl to cover the amusing thought that crossed his mind: _the only utterly fascinating thing that I could think of that is worth staring at is her…_

"It's nothing." He scoffed, snorting. He noted, though made no sign, that he had enough air left over for long sentences without having to stop like an asthmatic and breathe again.

"But you're hurt…"

He snorted again, "Feh!" now the amber eyes were irritated. "Kagome you should know better than to worry about me! I'm half _demon,_ remember?"

She shifted on her bare feet uncomfortably, "Yes, but you still feel pain…"

Inuyasha stopped, the frown that he'd been crafting on his face dying before it was quite finished being born. _Pain_…yes, but he wasn't thinking of the dulled ache in his left lung, he was thinking of the sharp, bitter spasms that creased his heart when he considered the thought of being alone…_of living without her_…

His ears fell backward and the amber eyes strayed to the floor. "Yea…you're right Kagome, I do." He risked a glance at her in the pinkish robe and begged her silently to understand what he _really _meant by those words…and after a moment of confusion he saw the change in her features and the realization form.

"Inuyasha," she half-whispered, so gently that he brought his white dog-ears forward again just to hear her, "I'm sorry…" her eyes grew teary and the hanyou frowned, scenting her tears immediately.

"Don't cry wench!" he hissed, though without negative emotion, his words were far closer to a plea than they were to reprimand. "I _hate_ it when you cry…"

She nodded, as if agreeing or trying to take sides with him against her tears, but, he supposed, tears didn't listen to foolhardy, callous hanyous that came to see the young women they loved only to grumble at them and speak in foolish riddles…he gulped nervously, trying to speak, only to have her beat him to it.

"Inuyasha—I'm so glad that you're okay! I was so worried when you were hurt…" she half choked on her own words, "I don't know what I'd do if you ever died, if you left me alone…" they both knew that alone wasn't the truth, Kagome had Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kilala, Souta, Gramps, her friends, Hojo, and her mother. She was anything but alone, and yet he felt something close to pride to know that she valued him enough to tell him so…with a jolt he blinked once, an inner voice silently scolding his stupidity…_You dolt! She **loves** you and you **know** it full well! She's saying what you came here to tell **her…**_

He shook his head, looking down at his lap and the covers of her bed. They smelled of Kagome. Years and years of Kagome…he could scent her life changes in them, the fullness of her life, an existence shared with her family and friends…how he envied her that security.

His fists tightened. "Kagome—I-I'm lost without you…" he swallowed, hard, his eyes remained carefully trained on his lap, at her bed, "I know that sounds stupid," he scoffed at himself, "But it's true. I _remember_ a few things now…_I remember you dying_…"

He heard her sharp intake of breath and, fearing that if he didn't let it spill out now he'd never gather the courage to say it, he closed his eyes and let the words flow, "I saw you fall from the cliff and I couldn't save you and—Kagome—I just don't think I want to live without you anymore. I'm tired of pretending…" he fought the lump in his throat, the stubborn stinging in his eyes that told him he was on the verge of tears, "That I'm happy without you…" his voice shook, his amber eyes frantically searched the room, looking to stare at anything that wasn't her face as his lips forced out the last whisper of truth, "I've waited my entire life for somewhere to belong—for a family to be a part of…" his gaze darted to the bed again, his nostrils flared, taking in the scent. Dizzying years of Kagome and more Kagome…years of togetherness, of family, of friends, of strength, of hope, of courage, of sadness, of heartbreak, of tears, of joy and desire and pain and love…things he only dimly knew of…

Inuyasha lifted his gaze and forced his face to be stern and expressionless. The amber stare met the stunned, pallid gaze of the schoolgirl, and though he shook everywhere inside, Inuyasha plunged onward, his voice somehow strong, "I love you Kagome…I just thought you should know…" he lowered his head in something close to a bow of respect and turned, ears pinned hard to his skull, moving for the open window.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called after him, her young feminine voice shrill and piercing in the eerie silence that had descended after his last words, _"Wait!"_ she pleaded.

The hanyou turned to throw her one last gaze of the amber eyes, burning with deep emotions that she was unable to read, glowing like the red hot coals of a raging fire, "I'm not asking anything of you Kagome, I just…" his eyes darted away and he shifted, moving closer to the edge of her window, further out of her room, further from her, "I just needed to tell you the truth…before…" he frowned, "Before something gets the chance to kill one of us." He turned his back on her, a flash of red, a flicker of silver, and disappeared.

Kagome lunged after him, her heart pounding in her chest madly. "Inuyasha!" she screamed after him, through the window. At the bottom she could see him dashing through the shrine grounds, heading toward the well house…_no…_

She whirled and grabbed clothing in desperation—sneakers, some dinky green shorts that were required for gym class, a gray sports bra and a white hoodie—pulling them on as she stomped toward the door…she hopped down the stairs, struggling to shove on the sneakers. Her brother, playing video games in the living room, threw her a curious glance…and gaped, wide-eyed. His sister was grumbling and hopping, as she frantically pulled on the sneakers in her dinky green shorts and the gray sports bra, the white hoodie in a messy heap on the ground next to her.

"Kagome!" Gramps was covering his eyes with one hand and waving a newspaper threateningly with the other, as if his granddaughter was a misbehaving pet. "Put some clothes on!" he pleaded.

Mrs. Higurashi blinked confusedly at her daughter as Kagome, ignoring them all, pulled on the white hoodie and dashed out the front door wordlessly. One of her sneakers was only half on; her heel crushed the back of it, making the schoolgirl limp. The Higurashi family stared at one another in blank, wild confusion, each gaping in their own way. "What's gotten into her?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, one hand, still holding an idle spatula, propped on her hip. She was shaking her head in consternation.

"A demon for sure!" Gramps ranted and moved at a hobble to grab purifying salt and other sacred precautionary artifacts. Behind him his remaining family sighed and rolled their eyes quietly.

* * *

Kagome hauled herself out of the well with a frustrated grunt. Her untied sneakers nearly tripped her as she tried to start walking again. The clean, crisp, fresh air of the feudal era greeted her lungs, like a caress. The birds chirped in the early afternoon sunshine…and when her brown eyes traveled over the meadow she saw nothing that stuck out—no red robed, silver haired hanyou that had moments ago professed to loving her…and then run away. 

She wanted to scream for him to come out—because she was certain that he was nearby, watching her as always—but she doubted that he'd show himself. He was apparently afraid of her reaction, though she hadn't the foggiest idea why. Couldn't he see that she felt the exact same way? Why would he run?

_If running is what he wants…maybe I should let him go…_but as soon as the thought came to her Kagome frowned, hating it. _No, sometimes people run because they want to see if you have the courage to follow them…to have faith in them._

There was a far more sinister way to draw him out of hiding, _if _she was cruel enough to use it against him after he'd confessed something so deep to her…surely he'd withdraw it…but even as she thought that it was an unwise idea she'd opened her mouth and whispered the word experimentally, _"Sit, Inuyasha…"_

From the trees to her left there was a crash and a resounding grunt of pain. Kagome cringed but wasted no time in rushing over to the source of the noise. It was no surprise to her when she found Inuyasha smashed into the ground face-first, a small impact crater enfolding him within it. She felt guilt stir within her at the sight—and then remorse at the groan that arose from her hanyou's throat.

Without thought she fell to her knees beside his self-made hole in the earth, and reached out to him, trembling words spilling from her in apology. "I'm so sorry Inuyasha! Please forgive me! I just didn't want you to run off and I knew you wouldn't answer me if I tried to call you…I just _had _to stop you from running away…"

He pushed himself up speedily, huffing in a strange mixture of irritation and embarrassment—she could see his bright red face—and pushing her hands away disgustedly. His ears fell backward and the amber eyes glared daggers, swords, knives, fireballs and acid at her, everything that could conceivably be used as a weapon. Kagome cringed.

"I wasn't running away damn it!" he snarled, making Kagome blink. _He's upset about me accusing him of running away? What about the sitting? _"I wasn't running from you bitch!" he snarled, crossing his arms stubbornly. One amber eye locked onto her gaze and then obstinately slid away for a moment before jerking back once to watch her expression, then it darted away again and he thrust his nose into the air, "Feh!"

_He **was** running away_…she stared at him, wide-eyed, completely missing the name he'd called her in his frustrated wrath. The Inuyasha that she knew feared nothing. He faced demons that hated him with the intensity of the hottest infernos that hell itself could offer without even blinking. But facing her was somehow different; somehow it scared him, scared Inuyasha into fleeing. She'd never seen him back down from a battle—even when it seemed impossible that he would survive it, even on nights of the new moon when he lost his demonic powers. She could name countless examples when he'd been so stubborn and pig-headed she'd had to sit him to get him to behave…but now…

_He's afraid of me…but why? He must know that I feel similarly…why run?_

She fixed him with a hard stare and eventually her gaze—and the heavy silence—made Inuyasha bristle and look back at her. He was chewing one side of his lip with the corresponding fang idly. "What are you staring at wench?" but despite this hard words the tone was weak and shaking, revealing his inner uncertainty, his inner fear. Kagome watched his amber eyes waver with a mixture of pain and fear and then he frowned, started to rise to his feet…

Before she really realized what she was doing, Kagome had wrapped her arms around him; pulling their faces together…perhaps some part of her had made the motion to keep him nearby, to keep him from pulling away from the closer, more intimate position they were in, side by side, on the ground, but then again maybe she'd just done it to comfort him…whatever she'd intended ceased to matter, however, as Kagome's slender, graceful hands clasped the hanyou's neck, fingers brushing through his hair, because Inuyasha took her scent in, her beautiful face, the warmth of her body and breath so near…and couldn't stop himself. Inuyasha closed that tiny gap between them that Kagome had left intact, startling them both.

As their lips met, a tad clumsily at first, a sort of fire erupted—butterflies that had lain dormant for years and years suddenly spread their wings, tickling the insides of both youths. Such a shock made their tentative meeting short-lived, and a second later they both pulled away, staring wide-eyed and disbelieving at the other.

Crimson colored both their cheeks immediately and both tried to speak and explain themselves at once, "Inuyasha I—" "Kagome I—" but their words died, unfinished, doomed from the start. Their gazes locked, as if pulled by gravity, they had no other choice but to meet the other's stare.

Shifting uneasily Inuyasha realized that when he'd moved to kiss her he'd managed to wrap one hand around her neck, where it now languished in her sweet-smelling hair, and the other had molded to the heat of her waist, feeling the power hidden beneath it. As much as he hated the thought of losing such contact with something he so cherished and worshipped as beautiful above all other things, Inuyasha withdrew…but as his hand slipped from her waist, Kagome grabbed it and clutched it in between her own.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered, her warm eyes still locked on his shimmering golden. "I…just wanted you to know that…" she pursed her lips once and he felt her squeeze his hand in hers, "That I love you too…"

His heart was beating to wildly for him to think straight. The warmth of her lips grazing his own, the brief but delicious taste he'd had of her moments before, was still heavy in his mind. It made him dizzy, standing before her, hearing words spoken aloud between them that he'd never even dared to imagine would happen…

This time it was Kagome who closed the gap between them, slowly this time, with a few calculated glances between his amber gaze and his lips, silently asking permission. The warm, loving glow in her hanyou's eyes was all that she needed…

Her lips moved gently over his, the lightest, most timid of kisses. "Inuyasha…" she whispered against him, and breathed in sharply as he responded with a fiercer kiss, pressing his hungry lips to hers, tasting her deeply before he pulled away and leaned close to her, his cheek against hers, his breath in her ear.

"Yes?" he breathed huskily.

"I couldn't live without you either…when I couldn't remember who I was it always hid in the back of my mind that there was _someone _out there, someone that I needed, someone that I was searching for, someone that was waiting for me too I hoped…" she hated the quiver in her voice, it was a mixture of her emotions trying to overwhelm her ability to speak as well as a physical reaction to Inuyasha's hot breath in her ear.

She felt his lips on her ear, tickling it teasingly, "I've always been waiting…" he breathed, and she felt his arms reach up and wrap around her, protectively, possessively. His heat seemed ready to grill her—most pleasantly she had to admit—to death. "Promise me you won't leave me ever again Kagome…_please."_

Although she wanted to do just that Kagome felt the pain reach through her heart. _If I told him that I'd be lying. There should be no lies between us…_ "Inuyasha," she sighed against him and buried her head into his shoulder, speaking, though muffled, through his red haori, "I can't promise that. I have to go home sometimes and no one can ever know that they'll be alive tomorrow…"

"What you _can _control, Kagome," the hanyou whispered, and she realized that his voice was thick with sadness and grief, "Promise me that if you can control it, you'll never leave me."

She nodded against him and tightened her grasp on him for emphasis…his warmth was a blanket that she wanted to be lost in forever. "I promise."

"As long as you live…?" it was a shaky sentence, though it was by no means just an afterthought. Kagome identified it silently, with an inward gasp of shock, for what it was. _He's asking me to be his_…she knew that "girlfriend" was too shallow a term for what Inuyasha was thinking, he was thinking of something _more_, something not like casual dating, but closer to marriage perhaps. Part of her reeled against such a possibility, thinking herself far too young, while the rest accepted that Inuyasha would never push her too far physically…to end the silence that was lengthening between them and to answer him as truthfully as she felt was possible at her tender age, Kagome nodded silently against him.

"As long as you want me here with you, Inuyasha."

She felt his ease against her, sighing contentedly. His lips tickled her earlobe again and she shivered, "Forever it is then, Kagome…"

* * *

Now it's time for the LAST Endnote! Remember, though this story is ending I have others...check 'em out if you haven't already! And don't forget to read my profile and help vote for which one you'd most like me to start next... 

Everything welcome but this time I can't answer you...(whimpers) sorry...pressure for another post-epilogue might convince me, but again, with my busy schedule, I promise nothing. All suggestions for the next story (read my profile for my latest ideas!) are WELCOMED! (notice the encouragement...) anyway, onward ho!

THANK YOU ALL REVIEWERS AND READERS! I'd be lost without you guys myself...(sniffles)... THANK YOU: _**Kiante, Psycho-Playgirl, Taeniaea**_, _**Mad-4-Manga**_ you asked about my name? What name? A name of a character, a story, or maybe my own writer's pen name? The pen name is a character's name from a novel I half-wrote of my own (not published sadly...maybe someday) about personified big cats...it's complicated. But basically Shilyn was a character of particular power and prestige, and she makes a great mistake...and finds herself with the choice of exile or death. She's driven to join a different species of big cats--her kind's sworn enemy. I LOVED the character and the name when they came to me...so I use it everywhere now...(grins)... _**Pyrinsomniac **_WOW! Thank you! Your review made me go back and reread my own stuff...(smirks sheepishly) to see what I did that was right...hope I managed to do it again for you... _**Valeve, ladybug1974, SerenaClearwater, Simonkal of Inyu, toxiclollipop, lost and alone**_ (Number 250!) _**Yami Chikara, Tiamath**_ (sheepish look) Yea...my biology...hehe...I'm always reviewing...for weeks on end during and even now after we studied the kidneys chapter I would pee and think "Wow! I know how that works!" I'm shamelessly fascinated by a lot of the body's biology...kidneys are just cool...(smirks sheepishly)... _**fanfiction1 **_Thank you! _**inuyasha'sbabe07, Rinelwin, Inuadmirer, Relia**_ Thanks for reviewing "Hanyou" for me (grins), and **_cool-chick-rae_**.

All right guys...the show's over...(whimpers)...but there's always more in my head...right now I have an idea for an AU, all the usual pairings, a plot and humor and everything! It just struck me one day...it'd be like Men in Black Inuyasha style...(snickers)...read it in my profile, I'm already fleshing that one out and starting it experimentally...if you guys show interest it may be the next one I publish/post here...or I could just feed you guys a quickie one-shot or VERY short story...I have several of those...(snickers)...but now I must leave you...THANK YOU ALL again! Ah! wait...here's a preview...give you one guess who they're talking about in relation to Sango:

_Kagome struggled to hide her smirk. If her partner caught sight of it now chances were she'd be shot dead, no questions asked, no second chances. "You could always file charges of sexual harassment on him…nail him good for it, Sango." She risked a quick gaze out of the corner of her eye toward her stiff, scowling partner and chuckled nervously, "You know, it's probably why he's always being reassigned…" _

_Apparently **that** was the **wrong** thing to say. _

_Sango growled vehemently under her breath and, with a jerky look to her blind spot, she darted out into the street. A horn blared behind her when she cut someone else off and Sango cursed into the rear-view mirror at the other driver: "Asshole!" _

_**Don't want to mess with her**…Kagome thought silently toward the car behind them, peering into her side-view mirror with a scowl, **Sango is armed and not afraid to shoot**…_

Bye all! Don't forget to drop me a line...


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